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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. pop — music
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. ground — a position
  6. spell — a short time
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spell — magic
  9. wound — an injury
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. swing — to play on
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spell — letters
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pop — soda
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wound — an injury
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ground — the earth

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