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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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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: degree · wake · bass · foot · rush · pass · calf · wound

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. degree — an amount
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. rush — hurry
  10. foot — a measure
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bass — the fish
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. pass — a permit
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bass — the instrument

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