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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. degree — from a university
  5. band — a ring
  6. court — of law
  7. toast — bread
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. court — of a king
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. court — for sport
  24. degree — an amount

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