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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. degree — from a university
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. stem — to come from
  8. capital — a city
  9. pass — a permit
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. swing — music
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. saw — the tool
  20. degree — an amount
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — to play on

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