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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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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. degree — from a university
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. cap — of ice
  6. swing — in golf
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. swing — music
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. deal — to handle
  14. degree — temperature
  15. saw — the tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. swing — to play on
  18. saw — the 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