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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spring — a coil
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fine — high quality
  6. chest — a box
  7. bass — the fish
  8. fine — all right
  9. spring — the season
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. board — a committee
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. ground — the earth
  15. spring — of water
  16. bass — low music
  17. ground — a position
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. ground — crushed
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — to get on
  24. bass — the instrument

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