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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wave · prune · degree · nail · present · ball · game · cold

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. degree — temperature
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. present — the time now
  12. cold — not warm
  13. present — there
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ball — a dance
  19. degree — from a university
  20. present — a gift
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. cold — an illness
  24. nail — for a hammer

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