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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. current — electric
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — of water
  8. snap — to click
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. spell — letters
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. degree — an amount
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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