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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. degree — from a university
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. wind — moving air
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spell — a short time
  8. degree — an amount
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. spell — magic
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wind — moving air

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