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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. degree — an amount
  3. land — to come down
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. kid — to tease
  8. staff — employees
  9. bass — the fish
  10. staff — employees
  11. face — to point toward
  12. land — a country
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bass — low music
  15. degree — from a university
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. staff — a stick
  21. land — ground
  22. track — a song
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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