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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: content · bass · pound · wave · degree · bank · deal · hand

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bass — low music
  3. pound — a weight
  4. deal — to handle
  5. degree — an amount
  6. hand — help
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. degree — temperature
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — of a river
  14. content — the amount
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bank — for money
  17. content — happy
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. bass — the fish
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bass — the instrument

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