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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. court — for sport
  8. game — a match
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. court — of law
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spell — a short time
  14. degree — an amount
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. ground — a position
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. degree — from a university
  21. ground — crushed
  22. present — the time now
  23. degree — temperature
  24. court — of a king

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