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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
468
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: degree · bass · fan · kick · clip · rush · bound · mate

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. mate — to breed
  3. kick — in football
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mate — a friend
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. clip — a video
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bass — the fish
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bass — low music
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bound — certain
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bound — tied together
  23. clip — for paper
  24. degree — from a university

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