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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cold — an illness
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. rock — music
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rush — hurry
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cell — in biology
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. rock — a stone
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rash — a series
  17. bass — low music
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bass — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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