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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: degree · file · wind · kick · wave · pass

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. kick — in football
  8. file — a document
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. file — a tool
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pass — a permit
  18. degree — from a university

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