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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. current — electric
  3. degree — from a university
  4. swing — music
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. swing — to play on
  7. current — happening now
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — the season
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bound — obliged
  14. spring — of water
  15. degree — temperature
  16. current — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. coach — a trainer

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