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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bass — the fish
  3. charge — in control
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. mine — for digging
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. scale — size or range
  9. hand — help
  10. degree — temperature
  11. charge — electricity
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. charge — a price
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bass — low music
  24. scale — in 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