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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. squash — the sport
  3. spell — magic
  4. root — the cause
  5. degree — from a university
  6. key — the most important part
  7. spell — letters
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. squash — to crush
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wake — a trail
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. root — of a word
  16. court — for sport
  17. root — of a plant
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. degree — an amount
  20. court — of a king
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. court — of law
  24. spell — a short time

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