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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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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: fall · degree · kid · mate · wave · trunk · cabinet · net

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. fall — to drop
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. net — for catching
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mate — to breed
  8. kid — to tease
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fall — the season
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. degree — from a university
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. degree — an amount
  18. net — after costs
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. kid — child
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. net — in sport
  24. mate — a friend

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