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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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. land — ground
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. degree — temperature
  7. root — of a plant
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wax — to grow
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. wake — a trail
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. land — a country
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bear — the animal
  22. land — to come down
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. lash — to lash out

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