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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mug — to rob
  5. row — a line
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bass — the fish
  8. degree — an amount
  9. spell — letters
  10. mug — a cup
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — steady
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mug — a face
  16. firm — a company
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. race — humankind
  19. degree — temperature
  20. race — the arms race
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. race — a contest
  23. spell — magic
  24. degree — from a university

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