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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · degree · lie · bass · hand · march · cold · wave

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. net — for catching
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. net — after costs
  9. march — the month
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. march — music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hand — help
  19. lie — to recline
  20. net — in sport
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. march — the month
  24. lie — an untruth

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