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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bass — low music
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. bank — for money
  12. rash — hasty
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bound — obliged
  16. pass — a permit
  17. bound — certain
  18. rash — a series
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. bank — for money
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bass — the fish
  24. hand — help

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