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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: roll · file · last · trunk · ball · bass · bark · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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. file — a line of people
  4. roll — a list
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. file — a document
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. file — a tool
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. bass — low music
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. ball — a great time
  19. last — finally
  20. degree — an amount
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ball — a dance
  24. roll — a cake

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