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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. deal — to handle
  4. club — a group
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. last — to go on
  11. row — a line
  12. cell — a phone
  13. last — final
  14. club — for golf
  15. cell — in biology
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. club — for dancing
  20. file — a tool
  21. degree — from a university
  22. file — a document
  23. last — finally
  24. file — a line of people

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