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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rash — hasty
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — a group
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rash — a series
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — not warm
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mark — a trace
  18. cold — an illness
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bass — the fish
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mark — a grade
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bass — low music

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