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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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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. spell — magic
  5. mug — a face
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. hand — in cards
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. spell — letters
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. mug — a cup
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. hand — help
  24. spell — a short time

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