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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. rock — music
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. rock — a stone
  10. hand — help
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. hand — in cards
  13. degree — an amount
  14. content — happy
  15. degree — temperature
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. degree — from a university
  20. content — the amount
  21. mine — for digging
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. chip — for betting

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