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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bass — low music
  3. pop — music
  4. charge — electricity
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. sharp — clever
  7. ground — a position
  8. charge — in control
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. ground — crushed
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pop — soda
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. suit — in cards
  16. degree — temperature
  17. charge — a price
  18. bass — the fish
  19. suit — to fit
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pop — to visit
  22. suit — clothes
  23. mine — for digging
  24. ground — the earth

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