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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: season · dip · wound · degree · bass · court · rash · straw

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. season — in sport
  7. rash — hasty
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rash — a series
  10. wound — an injury
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. season — of the year
  14. court — for sport
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bass — low music
  19. dip — to sink
  20. degree — temperature
  21. court — of law
  22. degree — from a university
  23. court — of a king
  24. bass — the instrument

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