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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. track — a path
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. deal — to handle
  9. track — a song
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — an amount
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. land — to come down
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spell — letters
  22. land — a country
  23. track — to keep track
  24. degree — temperature

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