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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. spell — letters
  3. object — to protest
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. object — a thing
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spell — magic
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. pit — a hole
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cold — an illness
  18. object — an aim
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fork — in a road
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bulb — for light

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