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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. swing — in golf
  3. ball — a dance
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. march — the month
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. hand — help
  16. swing — music
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — in cards
  21. swing — to play on
  22. stem — to come from
  23. march — music
  24. pitcher — a jug

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