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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.

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
YesNo
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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: chair · rash · bass · hide · ball · chest · dip · degree

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rash — a series
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. chest — of your body
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — an amount
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. dip — to sink
  17. chest — a box
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bass — low music
  20. ball — a dance
  21. chair — a leader
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. degree — temperature

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