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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. squash — the sport
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. chest — of your body
  5. last — to go on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. squash — to crush
  8. last — finally
  9. chest — a box
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. stock — shares
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pitch — completely
  17. rule — a law
  18. stock — goods
  19. degree — an amount
  20. swing — to play on
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. rule — government
  24. last — final

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