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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  3. ground — crushed
  4. swing — to play on
  5. ground — the earth
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mate — a partner
  8. kid — child
  9. mate — to breed
  10. field — farmland
  11. swing — in golf
  12. field — a subject
  13. degree — an amount
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mate — a friend
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. field — for sport
  20. degree — temperature
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. ground — a position
  23. lash — to lash out
  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