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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
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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: bay · net · rush · band · wound · wax · kick · degree

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. wound — an injury
  3. net — in sport
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. wax — to grow
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. band — a music group
  9. kick — in football
  10. rush — hurry
  11. net — after costs
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — temperature
  15. net — for catching
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. degree — from a university
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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