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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
468
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 · degree · jam · chest · hide · mark · net · rest

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. net — in sport
  3. mark — a trace
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bass — the fish
  6. rest — what's left
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. degree — from a university
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. net — after costs
  19. degree — temperature
  20. rest — a break
  21. mark — a grade
  22. net — for catching
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chest — a box

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