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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: degree · wave · season · clip · branch · snap · hand · ruler

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. degree — temperature
  4. clip — a video
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. hand — in cards
  8. season — in sport
  9. snap — to click
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. hand — help
  13. degree — an amount
  14. branch — a division
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. season — of the year
  24. degree — from a university

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