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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: net · clip · date · last · mate · degree · bass · staff

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. last — finally
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. last — to go on
  6. clip — to cut
  7. net — after costs
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mate — to breed
  10. net — for catching
  11. last — final
  12. net — in sport
  13. staff — employees
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bass — low music
  16. clip — a video
  17. mate — a partner
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. staff — employees
  24. mate — a friend

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