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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. wax — to grow
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mark — a trace
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bass — low music
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mark — a grade
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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