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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 120 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 valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bank — for money
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chest — of your body
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bass — low music
  13. kick — in football
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bank — for money
  16. bass — the fish
  17. object — to protest
  18. degree — from a university
  19. object — an aim
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chest — a box
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. fan — a supporter

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