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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. degree — temperature
  4. spell — magic
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spell — a short time
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fine — all right
  11. mug — a face
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — high quality
  15. rock — a stone
  16. lean — to bend
  17. rock — music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mug — to rob
  20. spell — letters
  21. lean — thin
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mug — a cup
  24. rock — to move gently

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