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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bat — the animal
  3. tube — a container
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chair — a leader
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. mine — for digging
  9. season — of the year
  10. bass — low music
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bass — the fish
  17. degree — from a university
  18. season — in sport
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. tube — the underground
  24. chair — to sit on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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