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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. degree — temperature
  4. deal — to handle
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. row — a line
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spell — magic
  18. pound — a weight
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. degree — from a university
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. drill — army training
  24. row — to paddle

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