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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pop — music
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. root — the cause
  13. clip — a video
  14. shower — rain
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — of a plant
  24. straw — a straw man

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