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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bass — low music
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mate — a partner
  7. root — of a word
  8. game — a match
  9. suit — clothes
  10. band — a music group
  11. degree — an amount
  12. root — of a plant
  13. degree — from a university
  14. root — the cause
  15. pit — a hole
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. suit — to fit
  18. pit — in a race
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. mate — to breed
  22. suit — in cards
  23. band — a ring
  24. degree — temperature

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