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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: land · wave · mate · degree · wake · straw · fine · pitch

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. fine — all right
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. pitch — completely
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. land — ground
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. land — a country
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. fine — high quality
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. degree — an amount
  20. land — to come down
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — to breed
  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