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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: wind · rest · degree · ruler · spell · fan · fall · fork

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. degree — an amount
  3. spell — magic
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rest — a break
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wind — moving air

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