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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pop — soda
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bat — the animal
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bass — the fish
  9. object — to protest
  10. degree — temperature
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — an aim
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pop — music
  15. content — happy
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. degree — an amount
  19. content — the amount
  20. pop — to visit
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. nail — on a finger

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