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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. face — to point toward
  3. spell — letters
  4. degree — from a university
  5. face — part of the head
  6. spell — magic
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rule — a law
  11. firm — steady
  12. clip — to cut
  13. degree — temperature
  14. firm — a company
  15. rule — government
  16. dip — to sink
  17. face — to confront
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. clip — a video
  20. degree — an amount
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fork — in a road
  23. firm — decided
  24. fork — to eat with

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