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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. firm — steady
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. degree — an amount
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. hand — help
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. firm — a company
  11. firm — decided
  12. degree — from a university
  13. kick — in football
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. degree — temperature
  17. key — the most important part
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — a weight
  20. key — in music
  21. field — farmland
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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