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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. degree — an amount
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bass — the fish
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. file — a tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pit — in a race
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. file — a line of people
  20. lean — thin
  21. degree — from a university
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bass — low music
  24. file — a document

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