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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. spell — letters
  5. can — to be able to
  6. snap — to click
  7. spell — a short time
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chest — a box
  13. degree — from a university
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wind — moving air
  16. can — a tin
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spell — magic
  24. can — a tin

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