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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: bass · wake · chest · nail · cell · bear · degree · mine

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. chest — of your body
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bass — low music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. chest — a box
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cell — a phone

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