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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. saw — the tool
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mate — a partner
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. mate — to breed
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mate — a friend
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spell — magic
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. spell — a short time
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spell — letters

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