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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · sharp · degree · wind · spell · perch · ball · content

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — from a university
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. perch — the fish
  8. content — happy
  9. deal — to handle
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a dance
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spell — magic
  19. content — the amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. degree — an amount
  23. spell — letters
  24. wind — moving air

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