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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 116 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: cap · mug · staff · degree · squash · spring · saw · bore

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spring — of water
  4. degree — an amount
  5. staff — employees
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mug — to rob
  8. squash — the sport
  9. staff — a stick
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — a face
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. saw — the tool
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spring — a coil
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. staff — employees
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — to drill
  22. saw — the tool
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — the season

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