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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. degree — an amount
  3. game — wild animals
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. roll — a list
  6. degree — temperature
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. lie — to recline
  11. season — in sport
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. season — of the year
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. game — a match
  19. roll — a cake
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. degree — from a university

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