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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: firm · bass · rock · degree · season · press · land · file

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. firm — steady
  3. land — a country
  4. firm — decided
  5. degree — an amount
  6. file — a tool
  7. rock — music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. press — to push
  10. file — a document
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bass — low music
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. season — in sport
  19. press — newspapers
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rock — a stone
  23. degree — temperature
  24. firm — a company

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