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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. current — electric
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. swing — music
  7. degree — temperature
  8. court — for sport
  9. degree — an amount
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. fork — in a road
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. degree — from a university
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. swing — in golf
  17. court — of law
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. sharp — clever
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — of water
  22. court — of a king
  23. bass — low music
  24. swing — to play on

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