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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bound — certain
  4. wax — to grow
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stock — shares
  8. clip — a video
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bound — obliged
  15. drill — army training
  16. bound — tied together
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stock — goods
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. drill — a practice
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cell — in biology
  24. drill — the tool

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