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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: rule · chair · roll · squash · fork · spring · degree · wake

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. wake — a trail
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rule — a law
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. roll — a list
  8. rule — government
  9. chair — a leader
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. squash — to crush
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. spring — the season
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. squash — the sport
  20. spring — a coil
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. roll — a cake
  23. fork — in a road
  24. spring — of water

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