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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: lie · ball · bass · press · degree · game · fan · cold

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — to push
  4. game — a match
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. ball — a great time
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bass — the fish
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bass — low music
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. degree — from a university

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