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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. mug — a face
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. race — humankind
  8. rash — hasty
  9. race — the arms race
  10. prune — to trim
  11. vault — a safe
  12. degree — an amount
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mug — to rob
  18. race — a contest
  19. degree — temperature
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — from a university
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rash — a series

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