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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 116 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: plane · bear · last · bass · degree · content · swing · lash

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. swing — music
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. content — happy
  5. swing — to play on
  6. last — to go on
  7. bass — low music
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. degree — an amount
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. last — final
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. bear — the animal
  20. swing — in golf
  21. content — the amount
  22. last — finally
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bear — the animal

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