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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: bore · spring · wave · degree · content · face · current · trunk

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. degree — an amount
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. current — of water
  6. spring — of water
  7. degree — temperature
  8. content — the amount
  9. face — to point toward
  10. spring — the season
  11. degree — from a university
  12. face — part of the head
  13. current — happening now
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. content — happy
  19. current — electric
  20. bore — to tire
  21. face — to confront
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bore — to drill

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