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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. present — a gift
  12. lie — to recline
  13. hand — help
  14. rest — what's left
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. degree — an amount
  17. present — there
  18. rest — what's left
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. present — the time now
  21. cell — a phone
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rest — a break
  24. cell — in biology

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