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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rule — a law
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spell — letters
  7. fork — in a road
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. press — newspapers
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spell — a short time
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. rule — government
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cold — an illness
  24. degree — temperature

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