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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. degree — temperature
  3. track — a path
  4. swing — music
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. hand — in cards
  8. swing — in golf
  9. capital — money
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. capital — a city
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. swing — to play on
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. chip — for betting
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chip — to eat
  19. sharp — clever
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rush — hurry
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. hand — help
  24. track — to keep track

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