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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 120 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
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: key · cold · spell · last · lie · degree · ball · bear

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — an amount
  4. spell — magic
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spell — a short time
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — for a lock
  12. degree — from a university
  13. last — final
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spell — letters
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. ball — a dance
  20. key — in music
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cold — an illness
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ball — a great time

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