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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. club — a group
  3. degree — from a university
  4. club — for golf
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. spell — a short time
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. shower — to wash
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. sharp — clever
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bass — low music
  23. lie — to recline
  24. shower — rain

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