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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. degree — temperature
  8. shower — rain
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wax — to grow
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chair — a leader
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. perch — the fish
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wake — a trail

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