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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
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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: wind · degree · pitch · lash · spell · last · drill · fine

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — all right
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — to go on
  9. wind — moving air
  10. drill — the tool
  11. spell — letters
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. fine — high quality
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. pitch — completely
  18. last — finally
  19. degree — from a university
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. last — final

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