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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: racket · wake · degree · capital · march · bat · last · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — a trail
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. last — final
  8. march — music
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. march — the month
  14. degree — an amount
  15. capital — a city
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bass — low music
  18. degree — temperature
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. last — finally
  22. capital — money
  23. last — to go on
  24. racket — for tennis

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