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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. foot — a measure
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spell — a short time
  10. press — a publisher
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. fine — all right
  17. degree — an amount
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fine — high quality
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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