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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bound — certain
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bound — obliged
  6. kid — child
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. degree — temperature
  9. file — a document
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. degree — an amount
  13. kid — to tease
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. file — a tool
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bound — tied together
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. degree — from a university
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. file — a line of people
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. fork — in a road
  24. lie — an untruth

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