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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · fall · net · degree · safe · row

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — from a university
  4. row — a line
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fall — the season
  7. net — after costs
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. clip — for paper
  10. row — to paddle
  11. net — for catching
  12. clip — a video
  13. net — in sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. fall — to drop

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