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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mate — a friend
  5. fork — in a road
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. spell — a short time
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. degree — temperature
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. mate — a partner
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. spell — magic
  24. patient — a sick person

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