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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. degree — temperature
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spell — a short time
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bulb — for light
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bulb — for light
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. saw — the tool
  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