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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. cap — a hat
  4. spring — a coil
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cap — a lid
  11. clip — to cut
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. degree — an amount
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. spring — the season
  16. cue — for pool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cue — a hint
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cap — of ice
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cue — a signal
  24. spring — of water

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