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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. land — a country
  4. spell — magic
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. spell — a short time
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. kick — in football
  11. fine — high quality
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. land — to come down
  15. degree — temperature
  16. land — ground
  17. fine — all right
  18. degree — from a university

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