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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: key · wave · deal · clip · wind · degree

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. clip — to cut
  6. degree — an amount
  7. deal — to handle
  8. key — the most important part
  9. degree — temperature
  10. clip — a video
  11. wind — moving air
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. clip — for paper
  16. key — in music
  17. key — for a lock
  18. wave — a sudden rise

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