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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 120 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: field · fall · bass · degree · content · craft · ground · ball

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. degree — temperature
  6. content — happy
  7. field — a subject
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bass — low music
  12. craft — boats
  13. ball — a dance
  14. degree — an amount
  15. craft — a skill
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — farmland
  19. content — the amount
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ball — a great time
  22. field — for sport
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. ground — a position

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