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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 116 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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. swing — in golf
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wind — moving air
  6. swing — music
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to click
  13. cold — not warm
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bass — the fish
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. shower — rain
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bass — low music
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cold — an illness

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