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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. row — a line
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pop — music
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bass — low music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. scale — in music
  11. last — finally
  12. bass — the fish
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. row — to paddle
  16. last — final
  17. degree — an amount
  18. club — a group
  19. last — to go on
  20. pop — soda
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. hand — help
  23. pop — to visit
  24. scale — for weighing

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