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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.

Make a worksheet

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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. file — a tool
  3. bass — the fish
  4. saw — the tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. ball — a great time
  20. shower — rain
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bowl — a dish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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