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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. can — to be able to
  3. degree — from a university
  4. scale — size or range
  5. rest — what's left
  6. fall — to drop
  7. degree — an amount
  8. game — a match
  9. present — there
  10. rest — what's left
  11. game — wild animals
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. spell — a short time
  14. rest — a break
  15. scale — in music
  16. spell — letters
  17. degree — temperature
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. fall — to drop
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. fall — the season
  23. spell — magic
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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