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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.

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 · calf · wave · mine · march · degree · ball · mug

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ball — a dance
  4. march — music
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. degree — from a university
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. march — the month
  11. clip — a video
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. degree — temperature
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. mug — to rob
  24. march — the month

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