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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bass — low music
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rock — music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. deal — to handle
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rock — a stone
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. degree — from a university
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. shower — rain
  16. degree — an amount
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a music group
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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