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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. spell — letters
  3. pound — a weight
  4. saw — the tool
  5. spell — magic
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. march — the month
  9. foot — a measure
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. degree — temperature
  12. march — the month
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. march — music
  18. spell — a short time

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