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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 116 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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cell — a phone
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cold — an illness
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. firm — decided
  9. bass — low music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cell — in biology
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — a company
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cold — not warm
  18. track — a song
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. track — a path
  21. capital — a city
  22. track — to keep track
  23. capital — money
  24. degree — an amount

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