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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. key — the most important part
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. mine — for digging
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. degree — an amount
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. court — for sport
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. degree — from a university
  14. current — happening now
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. degree — temperature
  20. court — of law
  21. current — of water
  22. key — in music
  23. current — electric
  24. court — of a king

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