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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wound — an injury
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. degree — temperature
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. degree — from a university
  12. row — a line
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bass — the fish
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bass — low music
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. row — to paddle
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. degree — an amount

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