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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. last — final
  4. spell — letters
  5. last — to go on
  6. dip — to sink
  7. last — finally
  8. mug — a face
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mug — a cup
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. track — a path
  14. mug — to rob
  15. degree — temperature
  16. spell — a short time
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. race — the arms race
  21. degree — from a university
  22. race — a contest
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. race — humankind

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