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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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wound — an injury
  5. degree — from a university
  6. current — happening now
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. current — of water
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. spell — a short time
  19. current — electric
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. kick — in football
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spell — magic

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