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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. kid — child
  3. object — an aim
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. file — a tool
  6. object — to protest
  7. mug — a cup
  8. root — the cause
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. root — of a word
  12. degree — an amount
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mug — to rob
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. file — a document
  23. object — a thing
  24. degree — from a university

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