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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. file — a document
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cap — a lid
  6. band — a ring
  7. file — a line of people
  8. band — a music group
  9. cap — a hat
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — from a university
  16. field — for sport
  17. file — a tool
  18. field — a subject
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pitch — completely
  21. swing — to play on
  22. field — farmland
  23. swing — music
  24. rest — a break

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