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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bass — low music
  4. swing — music
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tear — from crying
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bass — the fish
  10. degree — temperature
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. tear — from crying
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rush — hurry
  18. tear — to rip
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. bass — the instrument

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