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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: dip · bound · bass · degree · toast · hand · rock · pop

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bass — the fish
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pop — music
  12. toast — bread
  13. pop — soda
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. rock — a stone
  17. hand — help
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. degree — from a university
  21. hand — in cards
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bound — certain
  24. dip — to sink

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