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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 124 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. degree — temperature
  3. rest — what's left
  4. shower — rain
  5. degree — from a university
  6. rest — a break
  7. stand — to bear
  8. scale — size or range
  9. swing — music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. shower — to wash
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. swing — in golf
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. face — to confront
  21. rest — what's left
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. stand — for spectators

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