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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. foot — a measure
  5. swing — in golf
  6. march — music
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — the month
  10. scale — size or range
  11. pop — soda
  12. scale — in music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. march — the month
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. swing — music
  24. degree — an amount

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