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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.

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: degree · kick · wind · mark · last · land · bass · net

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. net — in sport
  4. land — ground
  5. net — for catching
  6. bass — low music
  7. wind — moving air
  8. degree — from a university
  9. last — final
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. land — a country
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mark — a trace
  17. net — after costs
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. land — to come down
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bass — the fish
  23. kick — in football
  24. degree — temperature

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