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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. kid — child
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bark — to shout
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bank — for money
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. degree — an amount
  13. band — a music group
  14. bank — for money
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. kid — to tease
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. band — a ring
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bank — of a river
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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