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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 my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. degree — from a university
  4. swing — in golf
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. degree — an amount
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bass — low music
  10. land — ground
  11. bark — to shout
  12. march — the month
  13. land — to come down
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. march — the month
  17. swing — to play on
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. swing — music
  21. march — music
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. land — a country
  24. nail — on a finger

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