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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — low music
  4. capital — a city
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. capital — money
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bass — the instrument

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