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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. field — a subject
  7. cell — in biology
  8. suit — in cards
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. swing — to play on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bank — for money
  14. suit — clothes
  15. swing — in golf
  16. field — for sport
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. suit — to fit
  20. bank — for money
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. field — farmland
  23. bank — of a river
  24. degree — from a university

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