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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. spring — the season
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. spring — of water
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. kid — child
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. degree — an amount
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. kid — to tease
  17. capital — money
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. spring — a coil
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. degree — temperature
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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