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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. spell — letters
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. court — of law
  6. degree — an amount
  7. roll — a cake
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — a short time
  13. cell — a phone
  14. court — for sport
  15. cell — in biology
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. spell — magic
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. degree — from a university
  23. roll — a list
  24. wind — to turn a key

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