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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: wave · degree · clip · snap · toast · saw · stock · pit

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pit — in a race
  7. saw — the tool
  8. snap — to click
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. degree — an amount
  12. clip — a video
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. degree — temperature
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. clip — to cut
  19. degree — from a university
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. saw — the tool
  24. toast — bread

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