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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.

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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 · race · hand · deal · ball · wind · degree · bay

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spell — a short time
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. deal — to handle
  10. spell — letters
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. degree — an amount
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. spell — magic
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. degree — from a university
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. race — the arms race

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