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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 · fall · field · net · wave · rock · bound · race

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bound — certain
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. field — farmland
  13. bound — obliged
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. net — in sport
  16. field — for sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bound — tied together
  19. rock — a stone
  20. field — a subject
  21. rock — music
  22. degree — from a university
  23. net — for catching
  24. race — humankind

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