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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spell — magic
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. spell — letters
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. degree — from a university
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cap — of ice
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tear — from crying
  16. spell — a short time
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. degree — an amount
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cap — a hat
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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