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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · mine · land · rash · pitcher · degree · hand · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. spell — a short time
  3. rash — a series
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. hand — help
  7. land — ground
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. land — to come down
  11. march — the month
  12. land — a country
  13. degree — temperature
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rash — hasty
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. spell — magic
  21. degree — an amount
  22. march — the month
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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