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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 116 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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ball — a dance
  5. land — ground
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spell — magic
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spell — letters
  11. capital — money
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — a country
  14. capital — a city
  15. rest — what's left
  16. can — a tin
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fall — the season
  19. spell — a short time
  20. can — a tin
  21. land — to come down
  22. rest — a break
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. capital — a big letter

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