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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bass — the fish
  3. club — for dancing
  4. track — a song
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. club — a group
  7. degree — an amount
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. track — a path
  10. club — for golf
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. band — a ring
  18. fine — high quality
  19. bass — low music
  20. band — a music group
  21. file — a tool
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. track — to keep track

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