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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. mate — a partner
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. shower — to wash
  11. degree — an amount
  12. dip — to sink
  13. track — a path
  14. mate — to breed
  15. track — to keep track
  16. shower — rain
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. degree — from a university
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mate — a friend
  22. track — a song
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. spell — letters

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