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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bass — the fish
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bass — low music
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. wind — moving air
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bank — of a river

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