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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — letters
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spell — a short time
  6. date — the fruit
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. degree — an amount
  9. suit — clothes
  10. march — the month
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. degree — temperature
  14. spell — magic
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. suit — in cards
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — music
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pound — a weight
  23. suit — to fit
  24. hand — help

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