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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. kid — child
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bank — for money
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pitch — completely
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bass — low music
  10. bank — for money
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. degree — from a university
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bank — of a river
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. squash — the sport
  23. face — to confront
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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