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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. wake — a trail
  5. object — an aim
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. object — to protest
  9. hand — in cards
  10. present — there
  11. content — happy
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. degree — temperature
  15. present — a gift
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spell — a short time
  18. object — a thing
  19. present — the time now
  20. degree — an amount
  21. club — for golf
  22. hand — help
  23. content — the amount
  24. club — for dancing

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