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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. land — a country
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. land — to come down
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. track — a path
  9. land — ground
  10. degree — from a university
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. snap — to click
  14. tear — to rip
  15. track — a song
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. tear — from crying
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. fine — all right
  20. deal — to handle
  21. degree — temperature
  22. track — to keep track
  23. tear — from crying
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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