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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bound — obliged
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. swing — music
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bound — tied together
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bound — certain
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. swing — in golf
  16. band — a music group
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. stand — to bear
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. band — a ring
  24. degree — from a university

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