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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. degree — temperature
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. spring — a coil
  11. sharp — clever
  12. degree — from a university
  13. file — a tool
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stem — to come from
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. spring — of water
  18. file — a document
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. spring — the season
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stem — a stem cell

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