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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
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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: season · roll · bass · vault · stand · degree · chest · fan

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stand — to bear
  8. chest — a box
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. season — in sport
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. degree — from a university
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. bass — low music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chest — of your body
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bass — the fish
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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