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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. drill — a practice
  7. object — a thing
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. object — an aim
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. degree — temperature
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. net — in sport
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — for catching
  19. object — to protest
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. hand — help
  22. bass — the fish
  23. hand — in cards
  24. straw — a straw man

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