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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  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 — from a university
  2. mark — a trace
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mark — a grade
  5. fall — the season
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bass — low music
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. degree — temperature
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. rest — a break
  18. kid — child
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pound — a weight
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kid — to tease
  23. coach — a trainer
  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