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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.

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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: sharp · mark · file · pop · degree · field · roll · bass

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bass — the fish
  4. roll — a list
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bass — low music
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. field — farmland
  9. mark — a grade
  10. degree — an amount
  11. roll — a cake
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. field — a subject
  15. file — a document
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. pop — music
  19. file — a line of people
  20. field — for sport
  21. mark — a trace
  22. file — a tool
  23. pop — soda
  24. mark — to pay attention

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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