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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. band — a ring
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. degree — an amount
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rush — hurry
  21. deal — to handle
  22. spring — of water
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. spring — the season

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