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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. degree — an amount
  5. branch — a division
  6. toast — bread
  7. pit — a hole
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. degree — from a university
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bore — to drill
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. row — to paddle
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bore — to tire
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spell — a short time

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