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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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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. degree — temperature
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. swing — in golf
  5. degree — from a university
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. swing — music
  8. file — a document
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. wound — an injury
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. march — music
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. degree — an amount
  22. file — a tool
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. swing — to play on

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