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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rule — a law
  3. content — the amount
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. content — happy
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. bark — to shout
  17. degree — an amount
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. rule — government
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — temperature
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bark — of a tree

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