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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: spell · content · bass · degree · mate · perch · wound · cabinet

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. degree — temperature
  6. content — happy
  7. mate — to breed
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bass — the fish
  10. spell — a short time
  11. perch — the fish
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. content — the amount
  15. spell — magic
  16. wound — an injury
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mate — a partner
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spell — letters

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