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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. swing — in golf
  3. firm — decided
  4. spring — of water
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. firm — a company
  8. kid — to tease
  9. swing — to play on
  10. degree — from a university
  11. kid — child
  12. last — final
  13. spring — the season
  14. court — for sport
  15. swing — music
  16. court — of a king
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — completely
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. court — of law
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. firm — steady

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