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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. chip — for betting
  5. degree — an amount
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spell — letters
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chip — to eat
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. spell — a short time
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wound — an injury
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. spell — magic
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. fan — a supporter

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