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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. degree — an amount
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — to play on
  6. field — a subject
  7. bass — the fish
  8. field — for sport
  9. bass — low music
  10. cap — a lid
  11. degree — temperature
  12. field — farmland
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. degree — from a university
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bore — to tire
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. swing — music
  24. bore — to drill

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