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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bass — the fish
  3. charge — in control
  4. scale — size or range
  5. date — the fruit
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. degree — from a university
  8. scale — in music
  9. band — a music group
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. bass — low music
  14. charge — electricity
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. degree — an amount
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. charge — a price
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. game — wild animals

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