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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: shower · wave · net · straw · degree · wake · foot · land

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. land — to come down
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. shower — rain
  7. net — in sport
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. foot — a measure
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. degree — from a university
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. net — after costs
  15. land — ground
  16. degree — an amount
  17. net — for catching
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. degree — temperature
  22. land — a country
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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