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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 120 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. degree — from a university
  4. spell — magic
  5. craft — boats
  6. row — to paddle
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kid — to tease
  9. net — for catching
  10. degree — temperature
  11. net — after costs
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. net — in sport
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kid — child
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. perch — the fish
  24. craft — a skill

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