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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rest — a break
  3. bear — the animal
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spell — a short time
  7. row — a line
  8. snap — to click
  9. net — in sport
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. net — for catching
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. spell — letters
  15. rest — what's left
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bear — the animal
  19. net — after costs
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. race — a contest
  24. degree — temperature

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