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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. hand — help
  6. mug — a face
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — to protest
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bulb — for light
  14. swing — in golf
  15. object — an aim
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bulb — for light
  21. last — finally
  22. swing — music
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. degree — temperature

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