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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.

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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: wave · bay · degree · wake · sharp · face · cell · spring

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cell — in biology
  9. face — part of the head
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. spring — the season
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. degree — from a university
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. degree — temperature
  19. face — to point toward
  20. spring — of water
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. degree — an amount
  23. face — to confront
  24. bay — a horse colour

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