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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. mine — for digging
  6. degree — temperature
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. shower — rain
  10. mate — to breed
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. mate — a partner
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. spell — magic
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. spell — a short time
  20. mate — a friend
  21. drill — army training
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. shower — to wash

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