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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bass — low music
  3. degree — an amount
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. kick — in football
  14. tube — the underground
  15. spell — letters
  16. tube — a container
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. degree — from a university
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bass — the fish
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. spell — magic

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