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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. spell — a short time
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — ground
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. degree — an amount
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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