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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. fork — in a road
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. clip — for paper
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. rest — a break
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bass — low music
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. clip — a video
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wax — to grow
  21. clip — to cut
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. rest — what's left

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