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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mate — a partner
  3. swing — in golf
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. swing — music
  6. pop — music
  7. mate — a friend
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. file — a document
  12. pop — soda
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rock — a stone
  19. file — a tool
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pop — to visit
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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