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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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spring — of water
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. swing — in golf
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. craft — a skill
  11. rash — a series
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pop — music
  14. swing — music
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. degree — from a university
  17. craft — boats
  18. bear — the animal
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. swing — to play on
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. spring — the season

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