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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. row — a line
  3. degree — temperature
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spell — a short time
  6. degree — an amount
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. tube — a container
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. perch — the fish
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — magic
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. tear — from crying
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. tube — the underground
  21. stem — to come from
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. tear — to rip

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