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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bark — to shout
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. board — to get on
  8. chest — a box
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bass — the fish
  15. chest — of your body
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bass — low music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. board — a committee
  20. rash — a series
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mate — to breed

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