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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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Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — from a university
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bass — the fish
  7. game — a match
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. content — the amount
  12. bass — low music
  13. bulb — for light
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wound — an injury
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — happy
  18. spell — a short time
  19. degree — an amount
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bulb — for light
  24. spell — magic

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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