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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. fall — the season
  3. degree — an amount
  4. deal — to handle
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bound — tied together
  7. fall — to drop
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bound — obliged
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. fall — to drop
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bound — certain
  20. spell — a short time
  21. file — a tool
  22. spell — magic
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. safe — out of danger

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