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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. drill — army training
  3. field — for sport
  4. fall — the season
  5. degree — temperature
  6. fall — to drop
  7. field — farmland
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bass — the fish
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. degree — from a university
  13. field — a subject
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. rock — a stone
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chair — a leader
  18. degree — an amount
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. fall — to drop
  21. drill — the tool
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rock — music
  24. toast — bread

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