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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. spell — letters
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pop — music
  7. firm — steady
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. spell — a short time
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pop — to visit
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. object — an aim
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — for betting
  16. object — to protest
  17. pop — soda
  18. firm — decided
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. firm — a company
  22. object — a thing
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spell — magic

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