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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pop — soda
  4. capital — money
  5. swing — music
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. capital — a city
  10. saw — the tool
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pop — music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. degree — an amount
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bass — low music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. degree — from a university
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. degree — temperature

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