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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. degree — an amount
  4. can — to be able to
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. game — a match
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. club — for dancing
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. face — to point toward
  12. club — for golf
  13. can — a tin
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. degree — temperature
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. face — part of the head
  18. club — a group
  19. can — a tin
  20. degree — from a university
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. face — to confront
  23. game — wild animals
  24. swing — in golf

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