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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. net — after costs
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. degree — temperature
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. net — in sport
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. clip — to cut
  12. degree — an amount
  13. clip — a video
  14. hand — help
  15. clip — for paper
  16. degree — from a university
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. net — for catching
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. racket — for tennis

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