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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: bass · march · coach · wave · land · chest · wound · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bass — low music
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. march — the month
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. march — the month
  11. land — to come down
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wound — an injury
  14. march — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. land — a country
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bass — the fish
  20. land — ground
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. degree — an amount

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