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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: roll · racket · object · file · last · squash · degree · craft

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. degree — temperature
  3. squash — to crush
  4. object — an aim
  5. last — to go on
  6. degree — from a university
  7. file — a line of people
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. object — a thing
  10. degree — an amount
  11. craft — boats
  12. roll — a cake
  13. craft — a skill
  14. last — final
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. last — finally
  17. file — a document
  18. object — to protest
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. roll — a list
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. file — a tool

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