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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. spell — a short time
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. land — ground
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. foot — a measure
  11. land — to come down
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. snap — to click
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. capital — money
  18. degree — temperature
  19. land — a country
  20. capital — a city
  21. degree — from a university
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. degree — an amount

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