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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. spell — magic
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. net — after costs
  6. degree — from a university
  7. shower — rain
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. last — finally
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. shower — to wash
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. degree — an amount
  16. deal — to handle
  17. toast — bread
  18. fork — in a road
  19. degree — temperature
  20. net — in sport
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. net — for catching
  23. spell — letters
  24. deal — an agreement

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