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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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 — letters
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. face — to confront
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. face — to point toward
  9. spell — a short time
  10. degree — temperature
  11. roll — a list
  12. face — part of the head
  13. drill — army training
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. chip — to eat
  17. drill — a practice
  18. roll — a cake
  19. spell — magic
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. drill — the tool
  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