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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. staff — employees
  3. march — the month
  4. staff — a stick
  5. degree — an amount
  6. club — for golf
  7. march — music
  8. swing — music
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. degree — from a university
  14. staff — employees
  15. swing — in golf
  16. deal — to handle
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. game — a match
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. swing — to play on
  23. degree — temperature
  24. march — the month

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