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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. ground — the earth
  3. charge — in control
  4. kick — in football
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bass — the fish
  7. degree — from a university
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. land — to come down
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. charge — a price
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ground — crushed
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. ground — a position
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. kick — with a leg

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