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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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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: calf · band · fall · rule · squash · firm · lash · degree

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. rule — a law
  3. squash — to crush
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. degree — an amount
  10. band — a music group
  11. fall — the season
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rule — government
  15. band — a ring
  16. squash — the sport
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. firm — steady
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. firm — decided
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fall — to drop
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. firm — a company

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