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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. court — for sport
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. swing — in golf
  6. rock — music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rock — a stone
  13. court — of a king
  14. hand — help
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. dip — to sink
  20. swing — to play on
  21. court — of law
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. hand — part of the body

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