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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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468
Word bank
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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bass — low music
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rash — hasty
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bass — the fish
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. shower — rain
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. fine — high quality
  21. rash — a series
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. calf — a young animal

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