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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bark — to shout
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mate — a friend
  15. squash — to crush
  16. content — the amount
  17. mate — a partner
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. mate — to breed
  21. tear — to rip
  22. squash — the sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bark — of a tree

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