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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rock — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. branch — a division
  6. bass — the fish
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cold — not warm
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rock — a stone
  24. lash — an eyelash

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