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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. game — wild animals
  3. degree — an amount
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mark — a trace
  7. current — electric
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. spring — a coil
  10. swing — to play on
  11. degree — from a university
  12. branch — a division
  13. swing — music
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. spring — the season
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mark — a grade
  19. fall — to drop
  20. current — happening now
  21. game — a match
  22. current — of water
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — of water

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