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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 116 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: club · mug · content · kick · degree · wave · land · shower

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. shower — to wash
  6. land — ground
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mug — a cup
  10. degree — an amount
  11. content — happy
  12. club — for dancing
  13. mug — to rob
  14. club — a group
  15. land — to come down
  16. mug — a face
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. club — for golf
  21. content — the amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. land — a country

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