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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. land — ground
  5. swing — in golf
  6. land — to come down
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pop — music
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. swing — music
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — soda
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — an amount
  19. perch — the fish
  20. land — a country
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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