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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. season — of the year
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. degree — temperature
  5. season — in sport
  6. swing — to play on
  7. degree — an amount
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. degree — from a university
  11. swing — music
  12. kid — child
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. field — a subject
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. field — for sport
  20. game — a match
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kid — to tease
  24. field — farmland

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