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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: cap · club · degree · hand · net · wound · date · mouse

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. net — after costs
  6. cap — a lid
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cap — a hat
  9. hand — in cards
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. wound — an injury
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cap — of ice
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. club — for golf
  23. degree — temperature
  24. hand — help

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