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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. wound — an injury
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. last — to go on
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pop — soda
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bass — low music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bass — the fish
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pop — music
  23. stand — to bear
  24. wound — an injury

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