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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: content · bass · degree · patient · mouse · squash · trunk · rush

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. content — the amount
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. squash — to crush
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bass — the fish
  10. content — happy
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bass — low music
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rush — hurry
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. squash — the sport

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