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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.

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: straw · net · mouse · season · tear · degree · plane · wake

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. season — in sport
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wake — a trail
  7. season — of the year
  8. net — in sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. tear — to rip
  13. plane — a tool
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. net — after costs
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. degree — from a university
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. net — for catching
  24. degree — temperature

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