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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rest — what's left
  4. present — the time now
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. spell — letters
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. spell — magic
  13. degree — from a university
  14. present — a gift
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. present — there
  20. stem — to come from
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. file — a tool
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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