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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. spell — magic
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. spell — a short time
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. squash — the sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. field — farmland
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. clip — a video
  13. squash — to crush
  14. clip — for paper
  15. field — for sport
  16. degree — temperature
  17. spell — letters
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. field — a subject
  23. lie — to recline
  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