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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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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: bass · club · rock · kick · degree · game · fork · ball

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rock — music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. club — for dancing
  9. degree — an amount
  10. club — a group
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bass — the fish
  17. ball — a dance
  18. club — for golf
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. game — wild animals
  22. kick — in football
  23. fork — in a road
  24. degree — temperature

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