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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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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 · cap · wave · can · land · sharp · root · clip

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. root — of a plant
  6. clip — for paper
  7. degree — from a university
  8. land — ground
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. land — to come down
  11. clip — a video
  12. can — a tin
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — the cause
  16. cap — a hat
  17. clip — to cut
  18. can — a tin
  19. cap — of ice
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. land — a country
  23. cap — a lid
  24. sharp — exactly

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