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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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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. swing — in golf
  4. degree — temperature
  5. press — to push
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. spell — magic
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. press — a publisher
  12. object — a thing
  13. hand — help
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. object — to protest
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — a short time
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. object — an aim
  21. mate — to breed
  22. press — newspapers
  23. hand — in cards
  24. swing — music

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