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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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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: rest · pound · wave · degree · row · object · face · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. face — to confront
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. object — an aim
  9. tube — a container
  10. object — to protest
  11. degree — from a university
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. face — to point toward
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rest — a break
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pound — a weight
  22. row — a line
  23. degree — temperature
  24. object — a thing

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