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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.

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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: wave · wound · bowl · snap · race · face · degree · bass

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — an amount
  3. race — humankind
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. race — a contest
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bass — low music
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. face — part of the head
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. snap — to click
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. degree — from a university
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. face — to confront
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. race — the arms race

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