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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.

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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: rock · wound · mate · net · cap · wave · degree · clip

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. net — for catching
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cap — a lid
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cap — of ice
  10. clip — for paper
  11. degree — from a university
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. rock — music
  15. net — after costs
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. clip — a video
  21. mate — a partner
  22. cap — a hat
  23. net — in sport
  24. mate — to breed

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