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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. degree — temperature
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. row — a line
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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