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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 120 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hand — in cards
  6. spell — a short time
  7. hand — help
  8. spell — magic
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. spell — letters
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cap — a hat
  17. perch — the fish
  18. prune — to trim
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cap — a lid
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cap — of ice
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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