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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. swing — in golf
  4. roll — a cake
  5. club — for dancing
  6. saw — the tool
  7. roll — a list
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. spring — of water
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pass — a permit
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. club — for golf
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. degree — temperature
  24. club — a group

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