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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spell · mine · object · degree · rule · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. object — to protest
  3. mine — for digging
  4. spell — magic
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rule — a law
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. object — an aim
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fall — the season
  12. spell — letters
  13. fall — to drop
  14. object — a thing
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rule — government
  18. mine — an explosive

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