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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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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: deal · net · season · spell · rock · degree

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. spell — letters
  3. season — of the year
  4. rock — music
  5. spell — a short time
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. net — in sport
  8. spell — magic
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. net — after costs
  13. rock — a stone
  14. deal — to handle
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. season — in sport
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. net — for catching

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