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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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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. spell — letters
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. spell — a short time
  8. degree — an amount
  9. capital — money
  10. rule — government
  11. degree — from a university
  12. capital — a city
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. spell — magic
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. rule — a law
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bore — to drill

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