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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rock — music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pit — in a race
  9. chair — a leader
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. sharp — clever
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bass — the fish
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rock — a stone
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pit — a hole

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