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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
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: last · bass · court · ruler · degree · cap · mouse · pop

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cap — a lid
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bass — low music
  6. last — finally
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. pop — soda
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. last — final
  14. court — for sport
  15. cap — a hat
  16. last — to go on
  17. cap — of ice
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pop — music

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