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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 116 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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. snap — to click
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bulb — for light
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spring — a coil
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — of water
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. can — to be able to
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — the season

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