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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: trunk · degree · ball · field · rock · bass · face · file

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. ball — a great time
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. rock — music
  6. field — a subject
  7. face — to confront
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a dance
  11. field — farmland
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rock — a stone
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. field — for sport
  19. face — part of the head
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — low music
  23. degree — an amount
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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