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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bass — low music
  3. stock — shares
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. stock — goods
  9. rash — a series
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. swing — music
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. degree — an amount
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bass — the fish
  16. board — to get on
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. swing — in golf
  20. degree — from a university
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. degree — temperature

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