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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. degree — from a university
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. swing — in golf
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. degree — an amount
  7. ground — crushed
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bound — tied together
  11. hand — in cards
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bound — certain
  15. swing — music
  16. bound — obliged
  17. hand — help
  18. ground — a position
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wave — with your hand

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