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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. face — to confront
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bass — low music
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rest — a break
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bass — the fish
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. degree — from a university
  17. swing — music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. scale — in music
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. swing — in golf
  22. deal — to handle
  23. face — part of the head
  24. swing — to play on

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