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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. squash — to crush
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. band — a music group
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. rash — a series
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. band — a ring
  17. degree — from a university
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spell — magic
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. band — a rubber band

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