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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: row · cue · clip · craft · ball · wind · degree · wake

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cue — a hint
  3. degree — an amount
  4. clip — for paper
  5. craft — a skill
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wake — a trail
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. degree — from a university
  15. craft — boats
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. clip — a video
  19. row — a line
  20. cue — for pool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cue — a signal
  24. row — to paddle

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