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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — an amount
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. degree — from a university
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. board — a committee
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — a short time
  11. sharp — clever
  12. degree — temperature
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. wind — moving air
  20. scale — in music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — magic
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. board — to get on

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