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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 120 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: fan · wound · deal · cell · mouse · pop · degree · wave

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wound — an injury
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pop — soda
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. pop — music
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. deal — to handle
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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