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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 120 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spell — magic
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spell — letters
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. ground — crushed
  8. object — a thing
  9. deal — to handle
  10. object — to protest
  11. ground — a position
  12. lean — thin
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. degree — an amount
  15. object — an aim
  16. degree — temperature
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. degree — from a university
  21. spell — a short time
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. ground — the earth

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