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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. mug — a cup
  3. club — for golf
  4. mug — to rob
  5. club — a group
  6. mug — a face
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — to play on
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fall — to drop
  14. swing — music
  15. ball — a dance
  16. degree — temperature
  17. club — for dancing
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ball — a great time
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. degree — from a university
  23. swing — in golf
  24. trunk — of a car

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