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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. club — for dancing
  3. spell — a short time
  4. club — a group
  5. spell — letters
  6. degree — an amount
  7. can — a tin
  8. squash — to crush
  9. can — to be able to
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. mine — for digging
  12. scale — in music
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. degree — from a university
  16. spell — magic
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. squash — the sport
  21. club — for golf
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. degree — temperature
  24. can — a tin

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