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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. spell — letters
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spell — magic
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wake — a trail
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. capital — money
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. degree — an amount
  15. spell — a short time
  16. capital — a city
  17. swing — music
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. swing — to play on
  21. degree — temperature
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. swing — in golf

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