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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 jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. land — to come down
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. degree — from a university
  5. land — a country
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. land — ground
  8. swing — in golf
  9. mug — a cup
  10. race — humankind
  11. degree — an amount
  12. capital — money
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mug — to rob
  15. current — of water
  16. race — the arms race
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — electric
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. swing — to play on
  21. mug — a face
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. capital — a city
  24. race — a contest

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