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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. drill — a practice
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pit — in a race
  9. degree — temperature
  10. content — happy
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. degree — an amount
  13. content — the amount
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pit — a hole
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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