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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 · patient · squash · degree · toast · roll · board · rest

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. rest — a break
  5. squash — to crush
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. toast — bread
  11. degree — temperature
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. roll — a list
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rest — what's left
  17. degree — from a university
  18. land — ground
  19. board — a committee
  20. degree — an amount
  21. board — to get on
  22. roll — a cake
  23. squash — the sport
  24. rest — what's left

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