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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mate — a partner
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bass — low music
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. degree — an amount
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bark — of a tree

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