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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 116 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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. branch — a division
  3. spell — a short time
  4. key — the most important part
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. fall — the season
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. key — in music
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rash — a series
  11. chip — for betting
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spell — magic
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. spell — letters
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. rash — hasty
  19. wake — a trail
  20. chip — to eat
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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