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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. degree — temperature
  3. rest — a break
  4. bass — low music
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mate — to breed
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. squash — to crush
  12. capital — a city
  13. mate — a partner
  14. rest — what's left
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. degree — from a university
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. capital — money
  22. mate — a friend
  23. degree — an amount
  24. squash — the sport

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