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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. degree — from a university
  3. face — part of the head
  4. degree — temperature
  5. spell — letters
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ground — a position
  14. spell — magic
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. spell — a short time
  17. face — to confront
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. ground — crushed

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