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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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Word bank
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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cell — a phone
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. foot — a measure
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. ball — a dance
  10. spell — letters
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. spell — magic
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. spell — a short time
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. squash — to crush

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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