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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. degree — from a university
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. swing — music
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. present — the time now
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. scale — in music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. present — there
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. present — a gift
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bank — for money
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. temple — a place of worship

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