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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.

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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.

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: straw · bass · degree · court · leaves · wound · fine · chip

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bass — low music
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. court — for sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — of law
  9. chip — for betting
  10. fine — high quality
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. court — of a king
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. fine — all right

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