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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: wake · rule · last · calf · nail · fall · degree · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wake — a trail
  5. last — final
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rule — government
  12. last — finally
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. fall — to drop
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rule — a law
  17. fall — the season
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — temperature
  23. last — to go on
  24. degree — from a university

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