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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. spell — magic
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. board — a committee
  7. spell — a short time
  8. shower — to wash
  9. degree — an amount
  10. board — to get on
  11. rash — a series
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. degree — from a university
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spell — letters
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. pitch — completely
  24. shower — rain

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