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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 116 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — the time now
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. present — there
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bear — the animal
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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