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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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 — with your hand
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. land — ground
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. land — to come down
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. current — electric
  8. drill — a practice
  9. current — of water
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. cell — in biology
  12. current — happening now
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. cell — a phone
  16. drill — army training
  17. degree — from a university
  18. toast — bread
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. degree — an amount
  21. land — a country
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. degree — temperature
  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