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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. bass — low music
  5. wake — a trail
  6. press — to push
  7. bass — the fish
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chest — a box
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. saw — the tool
  12. suit — clothes
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. degree — from a university
  16. press — a publisher
  17. suit — to fit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chest — of your body
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. suit — in cards

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