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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. march — the month
  4. press — a publisher
  5. degree — an amount
  6. march — the month
  7. row — to paddle
  8. squash — the sport
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a word
  12. march — music
  13. press — to push
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spell — a short time
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. row — a line
  20. press — newspapers
  21. spell — letters
  22. squash — to crush
  23. root — of a plant
  24. degree — temperature

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