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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. sharp — clever
  3. charge — a price
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to drill
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. charge — in control
  11. stem — to come from
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. charge — electricity
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bore — to tire
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. degree — an amount

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