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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.

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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: leaves · tear · degree · fall · pass · wave

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. fall — the season
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fall — to drop
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. wave — of the sea

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