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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. kid — child
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — a trace
  7. degree — temperature
  8. key — in music
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. kid — to tease
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bass — the fish
  14. degree — from a university
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — the most important part
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. prune — to trim

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