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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tear — from crying
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. rash — a series
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. key — the most important part
  8. net — in sport
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kid — child
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. kid — to tease
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. net — after costs
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. key — in music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. key — for a lock
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. degree — temperature
  22. tear — to rip
  23. degree — an amount
  24. net — for catching

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