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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 116 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. swing — in golf
  4. degree — from a university
  5. swing — music
  6. firm — a company
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wind — moving air
  9. degree — temperature
  10. firm — decided
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. capital — money
  13. swing — to play on
  14. kid — to tease
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. branch — a division
  22. capital — a city
  23. kid — child
  24. firm — steady

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