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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. swing — music
  3. last — final
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pop — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — to handle
  10. last — to go on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pop — soda
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. degree — from a university
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. squash — the sport
  17. kick — in football
  18. degree — temperature
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pop — to visit
  21. squash — to crush
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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