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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 116 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. net — for catching
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. bass — low music
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. net — after costs
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. net — in sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cell — in biology

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