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

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. land — to come down
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. wake — a trail
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. rest — a break
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — ground
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. land — a country
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. capital — a city
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. capital — money
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rock — a stone

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