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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. current — of water
  6. degree — from a university
  7. swing — music
  8. chest — a box
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. swing — to play on
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. degree — temperature
  14. current — happening now
  15. court — for sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. court — of a king
  20. current — electric
  21. swing — in golf
  22. hand — help
  23. rush — hurry
  24. court — of law

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