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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.

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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: chest · degree · straw · bass · cap · sharp · pop · cabinet

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cap — of ice
  3. chest — a box
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bass — low music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pop — music
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. degree — from a university
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cap — a lid
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. degree — an amount
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cabinet — ministers

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