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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. kick — in football
  7. craft — a skill
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — the cause
  13. craft — boats
  14. cell — in biology
  15. last — to go on
  16. degree — an amount
  17. root — of a word
  18. last — finally
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cell — a phone
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. degree — temperature

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