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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wind — moving air
  3. key — in music
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. key — the most important part
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mate — a partner
  15. key — for a lock
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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