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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. spell — magic
  3. fine — high quality
  4. spell — a short time
  5. degree — temperature
  6. suit — to fit
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fall — the season
  10. fine — all right
  11. spell — letters
  12. cold — not warm
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. suit — clothes
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fall — to drop

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