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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: game · present · degree · rest · cell · wave · deal · land

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rest — a break
  3. land — to come down
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cell — in biology
  6. land — a country
  7. deal — to handle
  8. degree — an amount
  9. game — a match
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. rest — what's left
  15. present — there
  16. present — a gift
  17. cell — a phone
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. degree — from a university
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. land — ground
  24. present — the time now

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