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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 120 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. swing — in golf
  3. root — the cause
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. swing — to play on
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fall — to drop
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fall — the season
  14. capital — a city
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spring — the season
  17. root — of a word
  18. capital — money
  19. degree — an amount
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. root — of a plant
  22. swing — music
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. spring — of water

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