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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. swing — in golf
  3. file — a line of people
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. tear — from crying
  7. press — a publisher
  8. roll — a cake
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spell — letters
  13. press — to push
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. roll — a list
  17. press — newspapers
  18. file — a tool
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. spell — magic
  21. pitch — completely
  22. tear — from crying
  23. file — a document
  24. spell — a short time

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