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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. row — a line
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. scale — in music
  6. face — to point toward
  7. game — a match
  8. bass — low music
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. bass — the fish
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. degree — from a university
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. degree — an amount
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. degree — temperature
  24. game — wild animals

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