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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.

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: spell · fine · mine · degree · club · hand · ball · last

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. last — final
  4. spell — a short time
  5. degree — from a university
  6. fine — high quality
  7. spell — magic
  8. ball — a dance
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fine — all right
  15. club — a group
  16. degree — an amount
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — for dancing
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. ball — a great time
  22. spell — letters
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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