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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 124 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. suit — to fit
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mark — a trace
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bass — the fish
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cold — an illness
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. suit — in cards
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. suit — clothes
  18. bass — low music
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a grade
  24. fork — to eat with

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