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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. cue — a signal
  5. band — a ring
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. key — for a lock
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. object — a thing
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. degree — from a university
  14. row — a line
  15. cue — for pool
  16. row — to paddle
  17. degree — temperature
  18. object — an aim
  19. cue — a hint
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. key — the most important part
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. key — in music

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