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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rock — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bound — tied together
  7. drill — the tool
  8. mate — a friend
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. bound — obliged
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. hand — in cards
  15. degree — an amount
  16. drill — army training
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mark — a trace
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. drill — a practice
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bound — certain

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