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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. pop — music
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mark — a grade
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. fork — in a road
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mark — a trace
  16. toast — bread
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. cold — an illness
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. pop — soda

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