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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spell — a short time
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — to go on
  6. spell — letters
  7. wake — a trail
  8. drill — the tool
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. drill — army training
  16. spell — magic
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. drill — a practice
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rush — hurry
  24. degree — an amount

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