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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. spell — letters
  4. bore — to tire
  5. clip — a video
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. degree — temperature
  11. board — to get on
  12. dip — to sink
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bore — to drill
  15. root — of a word
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. clip — to cut
  18. root — of a plant
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. root — the cause
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. board — a committee

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