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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  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. wave — a sudden rise
  2. rest — a break
  3. club — for dancing
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. band — a ring
  6. file — a document
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. chip — to eat
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — an amount
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. rest — what's left
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. degree — temperature
  17. file — a tool
  18. snap — to click
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — for betting
  21. band — a music group
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wave — of the sea
  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