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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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. 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 — magic
  2. board — to get on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. spell — letters
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chair — a leader
  8. saw — the tool
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. saw — the tool
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. board — a committee
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. 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