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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. degree — an amount
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. swing — in golf
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. degree — from a university
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bank — for money
  18. chip — to eat
  19. face — to confront
  20. swing — music
  21. pitch — completely
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. degree — temperature
  24. chip — for betting

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