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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 lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. cap — of ice
  5. land — to come down
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cap — a hat
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cap — a lid
  15. land — ground
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. dip — to sink
  20. fork — in a road
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. land — a country

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