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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. band — a ring
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bass — low music
  5. current — of water
  6. season — in sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. current — electric
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. row — a line
  12. cap — a lid
  13. row — to paddle
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cap — of ice
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cap — a hat
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. degree — from a university
  21. season — of the year
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. current — happening now
  24. bass — the fish

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