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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. band — a music group
  5. swing — music
  6. craft — a skill
  7. key — for a lock
  8. pop — to visit
  9. key — the most important part
  10. craft — boats
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lie — to recline
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. swing — in golf
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pop — soda
  17. band — a ring
  18. key — in music
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. degree — an amount
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pop — music

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