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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bass — low music
  4. degree — an amount
  5. last — final
  6. fall — the season
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. degree — temperature
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. last — to go on
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. last — finally
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. fall — to drop
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bass — the fish
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pitcher — a jug

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