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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bass — the fish
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. bass — low music
  17. foot — a measure
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. spring — a coil

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