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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rush · wound · content · bass · degree · pop · chip · chair

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bass — the fish
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. pop — soda
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. content — happy
  17. chip — for betting
  18. content — the amount
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rush — hurry
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bass — low music

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