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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. net — in sport
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. net — after costs
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. band — a music group
  22. net — for catching
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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