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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. degree — temperature
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. ground — a position
  11. land — to come down
  12. chip — to eat
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bound — tied together
  15. land — a country
  16. club — for golf
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bound — obliged
  19. land — ground
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. club — a group
  23. bound — certain
  24. chip — for betting

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