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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. board — a committee
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cap — a lid
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cell — in biology
  14. board — to get on
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rash — a series
  20. cap — a hat
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. cell — a phone
  24. scale — in music

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