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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. degree — an amount
  3. sharp — clever
  4. swing — music
  5. scale — in music
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. swing — in golf
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fall — to drop
  12. degree — from a university
  13. season — in sport
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. fall — the season
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bass — the fish
  18. season — of the year
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bass — low music
  24. pass — a permit

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