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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. cap — of ice
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bound — tied together
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bound — obliged
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cap — a lid
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bound — certain
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cold — an illness
  22. degree — an amount
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. ball — a round shape

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