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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: season · bass · row · chair · hand · bore · bat · degree

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. row — to paddle
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bass — the fish
  6. season — of the year
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. season — in sport
  9. row — a line
  10. hand — help
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bass — low music
  19. bore — to drill
  20. hand — in cards
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. degree — an amount
  24. season — to add flavour

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