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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. land — to come down
  3. root — of a plant
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. rule — government
  8. land — ground
  9. degree — an amount
  10. root — of a word
  11. degree — temperature
  12. ball — a dance
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. root — the cause
  19. rule — a law
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. land — a country
  24. cold — an illness

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