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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. 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. fall — to drop
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fall — the season
  5. degree — an amount
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spell — a short time
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wake — a trail
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. spell — magic
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. rash — a series
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. 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