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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. clip — to cut
  4. key — in music
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bass — the fish
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. degree — an amount
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cell — in biology
  11. key — the most important part
  12. deal — to handle
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cell — a phone
  15. degree — from a university
  16. clip — a video
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bass — low music
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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