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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chair — a leader
  3. degree — an amount
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. swing — in golf
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cap — a lid
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. swing — to play on
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. can — a tin
  12. clip — a video
  13. swing — music
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. cap — of ice
  17. degree — temperature
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cap — a hat

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