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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. scale — in music
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. degree — an amount
  6. season — of the year
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. season — in sport
  10. hand — in cards
  11. swing — music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hand — help
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bear — the animal
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bear — the animal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. swing — in golf

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