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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: date · squash · spell · foot · cell · degree · clip · board

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cell — in biology
  4. date — the fruit
  5. board — a committee
  6. spell — magic
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. degree — from a university
  10. spell — letters
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. foot — a measure
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. squash — the sport
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. spell — a short time
  20. clip — to cut
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. board — to get on
  24. cell — a phone

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