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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: bank · mate · game · squash · degree · foot · prune · kid

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. game — wild animals
  3. foot — a measure
  4. mate — a partner
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bank — for money
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. game — a match
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mate — a friend
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. degree — temperature
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. mate — to breed

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