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

Word bank: wave · degree · cell · snap · tear · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cell — a phone
  3. march — music
  4. degree — from a university
  5. tear — from crying
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. tear — from crying
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. degree — temperature

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