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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. ground — crushed
  3. content — the amount
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. content — happy
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. race — a contest
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. ground — a position
  12. degree — an amount
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. net — for catching
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. degree — temperature
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. ground — the earth
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. race — humankind
  24. degree — from a university

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