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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: bear · roll · sharp · mug · wound · degree · bass · nail

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bass — the fish
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bear — the animal
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mug — a cup
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. mug — to rob
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. degree — temperature
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. roll — a list
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. roll — a cake
  16. bass — low music
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bear — the animal
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. mug — a face

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