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

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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 — in golf
  2. rock — music
  3. ball — a great time
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. degree — an amount
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cell — a phone
  10. chip — for betting
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. chip — to eat
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — a stone
  20. swing — to play on
  21. snap — to click
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  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