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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bass — the fish
  4. staff — employees
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. pop — soda
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pop — to visit
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. file — a tool
  13. staff — employees
  14. file — a document
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stand — to bear
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pop — music
  20. bass — low music
  21. capital — money
  22. degree — from a university
  23. file — a line of people
  24. capital — a city

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