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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 116 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 is an ace ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mug — to rob
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. degree — temperature
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spell — magic
  11. row — a line
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mug — a face
  15. shower — rain
  16. degree — an amount
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mug — a cup
  19. degree — from a university
  20. spell — a short time
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. spell — letters
  23. hand — help
  24. pitcher — a jug

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