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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. swing — to play on
  5. can — a tin
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rush — hurry
  8. swing — music
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. club — for dancing
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rash — a series
  15. file — a line of people
  16. can — to be able to
  17. club — a group
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. shower — rain
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. can — a tin
  23. club — for golf
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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