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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. ground — crushed
  5. row — a line
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. row — to paddle
  9. ground — the earth
  10. charge — in control
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stem — to come from
  15. degree — an amount
  16. spell — magic
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. charge — a price
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ground — a position
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. charge — electricity

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