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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. spell — magic
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. degree — an amount
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. hand — in cards
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. capital — a city
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bear — the animal
  16. capital — money
  17. degree — temperature
  18. spell — letters
  19. degree — from a university
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. spell — a short time
  23. hand — help
  24. land — a country

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