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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: rush · roll · bowl · march · degree · bass · cold · mark

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bass — the fish
  7. mark — a trace
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. degree — from a university
  11. roll — a cake
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mark — a grade
  14. march — the month
  15. roll — a list
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. march — music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. bass — low music
  24. march — the month

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