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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bass · bear · degree · wave · field · cold · club · squash

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. field — a subject
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bass — low music
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bass — the fish
  15. club — for golf
  16. field — farmland
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bear — the animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. cold — not warm
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. squash — the vegetable

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