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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: degree · game · rest · last · wave · spell · ground · nail

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. game — a match
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ground — the earth
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spell — letters
  7. rest — a break
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. last — to go on
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — an amount
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. ground — a position
  19. last — finally
  20. spell — a short time
  21. degree — from a university
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. last — final
  24. ground — crushed

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