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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 124 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spell — letters
  3. firm — a company
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. key — for a lock
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. key — the most important part
  9. firm — steady
  10. spell — a short time
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — thin
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lean — to bend
  17. spell — magic
  18. firm — decided
  19. court — of law
  20. degree — an amount
  21. key — in music
  22. degree — from a university
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fan — to cool the air

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