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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
468
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: degree · spring · toast · roll · sharp · bass · lie · march

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. degree — temperature
  4. toast — bread
  5. march — music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. lie — to recline
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bass — the fish
  11. degree — an amount
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. march — the month
  15. roll — a cake
  16. sharp — clever
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. spring — the season
  22. march — the month
  23. bass — low music
  24. roll — a list

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