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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. spell — magic
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spell — letters
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. degree — temperature
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. club — a group
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. club — for golf
  21. wake — a trail
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. degree — from a university

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