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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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Word bank
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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. staff — employees
  3. suit — to fit
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. key — for a lock
  8. fine — all right
  9. degree — temperature
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — an illness
  12. key — in music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. fine — high quality
  15. staff — a stick
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spell — a short time
  19. suit — clothes
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spell — letters
  22. suit — in cards
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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