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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. spell — letters
  6. bass — low music
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. capital — a city
  9. spell — a short time
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. vault — a safe
  14. snap — to click
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bass — the fish
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. capital — money
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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