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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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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: content · degree · mate · lie · wind · clip · pound · wave

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. lie — to recline
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mate — to breed
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — to cut
  17. content — happy
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mate — a friend
  22. clip — a video
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mate — a partner

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