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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mark — a trace
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. degree — temperature
  12. row — a line
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. wind — moving air

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