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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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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: mouse · degree · wind · wave · file · bulb · chest · fall

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. fall — the season
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. file — a document
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chest — of your body
  22. degree — temperature
  23. file — a tool
  24. chest — a box

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