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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. club — for golf
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. drill — a practice
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ground — a position
  15. degree — temperature
  16. club — a group
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. object — a thing
  19. rash — a series
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. drill — army training
  22. object — an aim
  23. rash — hasty
  24. drill — the tool

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