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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. swing — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bank — for money
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. sharp — clever
  11. pit — in a race
  12. degree — temperature
  13. swing — to play on
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bank — of a river
  16. swing — in golf
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pit — a hole
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bank — for money
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cold — not warm

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