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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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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pop — soda
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. last — finally
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. swing — in golf
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. degree — temperature
  16. swing — music
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. last — to go on
  20. branch — a division
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. swing — to play on
  23. last — final
  24. pop — 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