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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. degree — an amount
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pass — a permit
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. game — a match
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. degree — temperature
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. pass — to spend time

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