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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mate — a partner
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mate — a friend
  12. branch — a division
  13. chip — to eat
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. spell — magic
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spell — a short time
  24. scale — in music

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