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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. pit — a hole
  4. chest — of your body
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pit — in a race
  9. craft — a skill
  10. chest — a box
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. prune — to trim
  13. craft — boats
  14. degree — from a university
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. chest — of your body
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. degree — an amount
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. degree — temperature
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. prune — to trim
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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