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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. spring — a coil
  3. degree — temperature
  4. deal — to handle
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. wake — a trail
  7. stand — to bear
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. club — for golf
  10. spring — the season
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. club — a group
  17. hand — in cards
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. hand — help
  23. spring — of water
  24. degree — from a university

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