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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. net — for catching
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. swing — to play on
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. net — after costs
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. net — in sport
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — a container
  15. club — a group
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. swing — music
  20. rock — music
  21. degree — temperature
  22. drill — the tool
  23. swing — in golf
  24. degree — an amount

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