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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. degree — from a university
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. last — to go on
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. last — final
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wax — to grow
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. last — finally
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. degree — temperature
  22. snap — to click
  23. hand — help
  24. game — a match

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