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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: game · scale · deal · hand · wake · degree · wave · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — a trail
  3. hand — help
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. tear — to rip
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. tear — from crying
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. degree — temperature
  13. hand — in cards
  14. game — a match
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. degree — an amount
  23. deal — to handle
  24. scale — size or range

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