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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. shower — rain
  3. spell — magic
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. spell — letters
  6. degree — an amount
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. shower — to wash
  9. face — to point toward
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. mine — for digging
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. face — part of the head
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. degree — temperature
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. face — to confront
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. degree — from a university

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