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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 116 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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468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. degree — an amount
  3. key — in music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. swing — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — in sport
  8. key — the most important part
  9. degree — temperature
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. swing — in golf
  12. degree — from a university
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. game — wild animals
  15. season — of the year
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. key — for a lock

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