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

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. lean — thin
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bass — low music
  5. degree — from a university
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. degree — an amount
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bass — the fish
  13. kick — in football
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. lean — to bend
  18. roll — a list
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. nail — for a hammer

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