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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. swing — in golf
  5. degree — temperature
  6. swing — music
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spell — a short time
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. staff — employees
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fine — all right
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. spell — magic
  17. staff — a stick
  18. spell — letters
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. staff — employees
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — in cards
  24. fine — high quality

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