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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spell — letters
  6. pop — music
  7. spell — a short time
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. pop — soda
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. squash — to crush
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. squash — the sport
  18. spell — magic
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wound — an injury
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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