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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. ball — a great time
  3. spell — letters
  4. content — the amount
  5. wake — a trail
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. spell — a short time
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. mate — a friend
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ball — a dance
  14. land — a country
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. content — happy
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mate — a partner
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ball — a round shape

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