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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 116 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: degree · chip · present · wave · tear · rest · clip · rash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. tear — to rip
  6. degree — from a university
  7. clip — a video
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. rash — hasty
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. present — there
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. present — the time now
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rest — a break
  20. present — a gift
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chip — to eat

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