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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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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: ground · net · squash · degree · last · fork · fine · cabinet

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fine — high quality
  3. ground — crushed
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. last — finally
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. squash — the sport
  9. degree — an amount
  10. last — to go on
  11. ground — a position
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. last — final
  14. net — in sport
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. net — for catching
  17. fine — all right
  18. fork — in a road
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. net — after costs

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