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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  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. wake — a trail
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. degree — temperature
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — in sport
  14. degree — from a university
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. content — happy
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  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