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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.

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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. wake — a trail
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. sharp — clever
  6. clip — a video
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. court — of law
  9. clip — for paper
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. court — for sport
  12. degree — an amount
  13. clip — to cut
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. deal — to handle
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. court — of a king
  24. wake — before a funeral

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