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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wake — a trail
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. squash — the sport
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. degree — from a university
  19. clip — a video
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. mate — a partner
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. clip — to cut

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