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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: wave · trunk · lean · pitcher · dip · swing · fine · degree

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. dip — to sink
  8. fine — high quality
  9. swing — music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. lean — thin
  14. degree — temperature
  15. swing — to play on
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. swing — in golf
  24. wave — of the sea

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