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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. degree — from a university
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. spell — magic
  8. face — to confront
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. degree — temperature
  16. prune — to trim
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. kick — in football
  24. face — to point toward

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