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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rest — what's left
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. rest — a break
  6. degree — temperature
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. shower — rain
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rest — what's left
  17. shower — to wash
  18. face — to confront
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bass — low music
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — the fish

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