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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · dip · squash · firm · race · degree · cap · season

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. firm — a company
  3. dip — to sink
  4. degree — from a university
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the sport
  7. firm — decided
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. race — humankind
  10. firm — steady
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cap — a hat
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. degree — an amount
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cap — a lid
  17. race — a contest
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. cap — of ice
  23. season — of the year
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com