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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rest — a break
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fine — all right
  7. degree — an amount
  8. season — of the year
  9. bass — low music
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. season — in sport
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. degree — from a university
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fine — high quality
  20. sharp — clever
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — the fish

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