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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. march — the month
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. squash — the sport
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bass — the fish
  7. kid — child
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. march — music
  10. degree — from a university
  11. branch — a division
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. march — the month
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. degree — an amount
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bass — low music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bowl — to roll

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