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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wax — to grow
  10. can — a tin
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. club — for golf
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cold — an illness
  16. roll — a list
  17. club — for dancing
  18. chip — to eat
  19. degree — from a university
  20. swing — to play on
  21. roll — a cake
  22. club — a group
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cold — not warm

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