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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 120 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. pop — to visit
  4. kid — to tease
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bass — low music
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. pop — music
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rest — a break
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. season — in sport
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. season — of the year
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pop — soda
  20. rest — what's left
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bass — the fish

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