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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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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 · safe · court · racket · jam · wind · chest · degree

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. court — of law
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. court — for sport
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. wind — moving air
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bass — low music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. court — of a king
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. degree — an amount
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chest — a box
  24. racket — for tennis

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