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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.

Make a worksheet

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: content · plane · wake · fan · rest · bass · degree · chest

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rest — what's left
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. content — happy
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. plane — a tool
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rest — a break
  16. degree — an amount
  17. content — the amount
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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