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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 116 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're almost out of ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. spell — a short time
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mug — to rob
  7. spell — magic
  8. pop — to visit
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pop — music
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — a cup
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. hand — help
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kick — in football
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. spell — letters
  20. hand — in cards
  21. degree — an amount
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. degree — from a university

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