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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 · clip · fan · ground · wave · charge · scale · degree

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. degree — from a university
  4. charge — a price
  5. net — for catching
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. ground — the earth
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. degree — an amount
  10. ground — crushed
  11. scale — in music
  12. ground — a position
  13. clip — a video
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. scale — size or range
  16. clip — for paper
  17. degree — temperature
  18. net — in sport
  19. clip — to cut
  20. charge — electricity
  21. net — after costs
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. charge — in control
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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