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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: cabinet · spell · object · ground · fan · degree · court · fall

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fall — the season
  3. spell — magic
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. court — for sport
  9. degree — temperature
  10. spell — letters
  11. object — an aim
  12. ground — a position
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. ground — crushed
  16. degree — an amount
  17. court — of law
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. court — of a king
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. spell — a short time
  22. fall — to drop
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — to protest

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