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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. degree — an amount
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — help
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. spell — letters
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. hand — in cards
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. key — for a lock
  18. lean — thin
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. key — in music
  21. degree — temperature
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. foot — a measure
  24. lean — to bend

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