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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. cue — a signal
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. degree — temperature
  6. swing — to play on
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. deal — to handle
  10. cue — a hint
  11. swing — music
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pound — a weight
  15. club — for golf
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cue — for pool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. swing — in golf
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. court — of law
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. club — for dancing

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