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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cold — an illness
  4. degree — an amount
  5. press — to push
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — from a university
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cue — for pool
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hand — help
  20. press — a publisher
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cue — a signal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. arm — part of the body

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