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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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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: band · degree · net · charge · sharp · tear · lie · wake

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. charge — in control
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. sharp — clever
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. net — for catching
  9. degree — temperature
  10. charge — a price
  11. net — after costs
  12. tear — from crying
  13. charge — electricity
  14. degree — from a university
  15. band — a music group
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. band — a ring
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. tear — to rip
  21. net — in sport
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. lie — to recline

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