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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. can — a tin
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wound — an injury
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. chip — to eat
  12. can — a tin
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. court — of law
  15. can — to be able to
  16. court — for sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. court — of a king
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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