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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. wound — an injury
  3. court — of law
  4. degree — temperature
  5. club — for golf
  6. capital — money
  7. degree — an amount
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. swing — in golf
  10. court — of a king
  11. capital — a city
  12. swing — music
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wound — an injury
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. swing — to play on
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. court — for sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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