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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. deal — to handle
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. row — a line
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wake — a trail
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. clip — a video
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. clip — to cut
  19. degree — temperature
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rock — music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rock — a stone

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