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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: tube · land · bark · wave · net · spring · roll · degree

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spring — of water
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. roll — a cake
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. bark — to shout
  14. net — for catching
  15. tube — the underground
  16. net — after costs
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. spring — the season
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. net — in sport
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. land — ground
  24. roll — a list

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