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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: saw · mate · lie · degree · ground · cold · calf · bass

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bass — the fish
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. ground — a position
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. degree — temperature
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bass — low music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. saw — the tool
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. degree — an amount
  18. lie — to recline
  19. mate — a partner
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. mate — a friend
  24. cold — the Cold War

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