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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: safe · last · degree · wave · wound · club · hide · coach

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. club — a group
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. last — final
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wound — an injury
  16. last — to go on
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wound — an injury
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. last — finally

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