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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: trunk · wave · ground · mate · clip · degree · lean · bowl

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mate — to breed
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. degree — from a university
  8. clip — a video
  9. lean — to bend
  10. degree — an amount
  11. clip — to cut
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. mate — a partner
  22. lean — thin
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. ground — a position

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