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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: wave · suit · degree · cold · bowl · mark · calf · foot

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mark — a grade
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. suit — to fit
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. suit — clothes
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. suit — in cards
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — a measure
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cold — not warm
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. wave — of the sea

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