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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cue — for pool
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — a video
  9. fall — the season
  10. cue — a signal
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fall — to drop
  14. degree — from a university
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cue — a hint
  19. clip — to cut
  20. degree — an amount
  21. field — farmland
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. field — for sport

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