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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. board — a committee
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. shower — rain
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. board — to get on
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wax — to grow
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. degree — from a university

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