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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. swing — music
  3. present — a gift
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. hand — help
  6. present — the time now
  7. degree — temperature
  8. firm — decided
  9. file — a document
  10. degree — from a university
  11. swing — in golf
  12. file — a line of people
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. firm — steady
  16. swing — to play on
  17. firm — a company
  18. file — a tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. present — there
  24. hand — in cards

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