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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spell · degree · field · bass · row · last · rest · trunk

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. spell — letters
  3. last — finally
  4. bass — the fish
  5. degree — temperature
  6. last — to go on
  7. row — a line
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spell — a short time
  10. field — a subject
  11. spell — magic
  12. rest — a break
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. field — farmland
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. field — for sport
  20. bass — low music
  21. last — final
  22. degree — an amount
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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