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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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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: wake · racket · bound · club · net · degree · cap · nail

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cap — a hat
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wake — a trail
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bound — tied together
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. club — for golf
  11. cap — a lid
  12. club — a group
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. club — for dancing
  15. degree — temperature
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. net — in sport
  20. cap — of ice
  21. degree — an amount
  22. net — for catching
  23. bound — certain
  24. net — after costs

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