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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. root — of a plant
  5. degree — an amount
  6. net — after costs
  7. present — a gift
  8. spring — of water
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. root — the cause
  13. spring — the season
  14. net — in sport
  15. present — the time now
  16. net — for catching
  17. content — the amount
  18. root — of a word
  19. content — happy
  20. spring — a coil
  21. present — there
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. degree — temperature

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