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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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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 · straw · net · fine · wind · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fine — high quality
  4. degree — temperature
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. net — after costs
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wind — moving air
  9. net — in sport
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. wound — an injury
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wound — an injury
  15. net — for catching
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. fine — all right
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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