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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chip · wave · content · plane · spring · degree · wake · game

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. 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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. game — a match
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. content — happy
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. chip — to eat
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. degree — an amount
  18. plane — a tool
  19. content — the amount
  20. spring — the season
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. 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