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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. mark — a grade
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spring — a coil
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spring — of water
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pop — to visit
  10. spell — a short time
  11. land — a country
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. spring — the season
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. land — to come down
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. land — ground
  19. pop — music
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. pop — soda
  23. spell — letters
  24. mark — a trace

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