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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spell — a short time
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — the underground
  10. file — a document
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. fork — in a road
  13. swing — music
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. swing — in golf
  23. degree — temperature
  24. racket — for tennis

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