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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. lean — thin
  3. pit — a hole
  4. swing — in golf
  5. lean — to bend
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. branch — a division
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cell — a phone
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bulb — for light
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. band — a ring
  21. pit — in a race
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. band — a music group
  24. degree — from a university

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