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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: coach · degree · wave · ground · ball · cold · rock · net

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. ground — crushed
  3. net — in sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. ground — a position
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cold — an illness
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — a stone

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