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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: foot · temple · pass · stem · clip · wave · degree · net

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. clip — a video
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. degree — an amount
  9. foot — a measure
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. net — after costs
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. stem — to come from
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. clip — to cut
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pass — a permit

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