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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 120 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. row — to paddle
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fine — all right
  5. land — ground
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. land — a country
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fine — high quality
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. row — a line
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. land — to come down
  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