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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: squash · staff · rule · degree · cell · bass · net · fall

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. net — for catching
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. staff — employees
  10. squash — the sport
  11. rule — government
  12. net — after costs
  13. rule — a law
  14. cell — a phone
  15. net — in sport
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. squash — to crush
  22. cell — in biology
  23. degree — an amount
  24. fall — the season

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