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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rush — hurry
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bass — the fish
  11. degree — temperature
  12. rock — music
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. suit — in cards
  17. suit — clothes
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cold — an illness
  20. suit — to fit
  21. rock — a stone
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a great time
  24. degree — from a university

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