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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. wake — a trail
  2. staff — a stick
  3. game — wild animals
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. file — a tool
  8. staff — employees
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. tube — a container
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. game — a match
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. file — a line of people
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. staff — employees
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. kick — in football
  20. file — a document
  21. degree — an amount
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — a thrill
  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