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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — in music
  4. band — a ring
  5. squash — the sport
  6. spell — letters
  7. perch — the fish
  8. degree — an amount
  9. press — a publisher
  10. sharp — clever
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. spell — magic
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. key — the most important part
  15. squash — to crush
  16. band — a music group
  17. press — to push
  18. degree — temperature
  19. press — newspapers
  20. degree — from a university
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. sharp — with an edge

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