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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: bass · cue · drill · degree · mate · chair · craft · ground

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. cue — a hint
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. mate — a friend
  7. drill — army training
  8. degree — from a university
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bass — the fish
  15. degree — an amount
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bass — low music
  20. cue — for pool
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cue — a signal
  23. mate — to breed
  24. craft — a skill

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