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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  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. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — letters
  5. field — a subject
  6. mark — a trace
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. degree — temperature
  9. spell — magic
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. field — for sport
  12. cue — a hint
  13. field — farmland
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. last — to go on
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. spell — a short time
  20. mark — a grade
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mark — to pay attention
  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