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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. degree — an amount
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. season — in sport
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. season — of the year
  11. degree — from a university
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. degree — temperature
  16. key — in music
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bass — the fish
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. season — to add flavour

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