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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 116 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. key — for a lock
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. race — a contest
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — in music
  8. land — a country
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. race — humankind
  12. bear — the animal
  13. degree — an amount
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. degree — from a university
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. degree — temperature
  18. race — the arms race
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. bear — the animal

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