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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bass — low music
  5. degree — from a university
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. tear — to rip
  9. net — in sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. land — a country
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. land — to come down
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fine — all right
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bass — the fish
  19. degree — temperature
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fine — a penalty

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