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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: shower · cell · rest · bay · degree · bulb · lash · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bulb — for light
  11. shower — rain
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bulb — for light
  16. rest — a break
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. rest — what's left
  24. degree — an amount

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