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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 120 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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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: tube · wind · face · squash · degree · snap · rash · row

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. row — a line
  3. rash — a series
  4. squash — the sport
  5. tube — the underground
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rash — hasty
  9. face — part of the head
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wind — moving air
  17. row — to paddle
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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