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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bank — of a river
  3. degree — temperature
  4. swing — in golf
  5. hand — help
  6. pop — music
  7. bank — for money
  8. board — a committee
  9. degree — from a university
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pop — to visit
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bank — for money
  18. sharp — clever
  19. board — to get on
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. hand — in cards
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pass — to spend time

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