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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · chest · rock · kick · degree · wave

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. mate — to breed
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. degree — an amount
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rock — music
  18. chest — a box

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