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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.

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: game · degree · mine · spell · mate · snap · present · squash

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. mate — a partner
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. spell — magic
  8. squash — the sport
  9. degree — from a university
  10. spell — a short time
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. mine — for digging
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mate — a friend
  18. squash — to crush
  19. game — wild animals
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. present — there
  22. mate — to breed
  23. degree — an amount
  24. game — a match

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