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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. key — the most important part
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wax — to grow
  8. key — for a lock
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rash — a series
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. key — in music
  19. degree — an amount
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. game — a match
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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