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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. march — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. ball — a great time
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. march — the month
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. degree — temperature
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. rule — government
  18. bass — low music
  19. march — the month
  20. court — of law
  21. ball — a dance
  22. degree — from a university
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to sink

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