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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. spell — letters
  4. current — of water
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — a hint
  8. deal — to handle
  9. current — happening now
  10. scale — in music
  11. degree — temperature
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. spell — a short time
  14. degree — from a university
  15. current — electric
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cue — for pool
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bat — the animal
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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