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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. suit — to fit
  2. spell — magic
  3. rush — hurry
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. face — to point toward
  7. degree — from a university
  8. scale — in music
  9. hand — in cards
  10. scale — size or range
  11. spell — letters
  12. suit — in cards
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. hand — help
  15. band — a music group
  16. suit — clothes
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to confront
  22. band — a ring
  23. degree — temperature
  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