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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. club — for golf
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cold — not warm
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. degree — an amount
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. club — a group
  9. rash — a series
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. club — for dancing
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bank — for money
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bank — of a river
  20. pitch — completely
  21. swing — music
  22. bank — for money
  23. degree — from a university
  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