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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. swing — music
  3. clip — for paper
  4. drill — the tool
  5. track — a song
  6. swing — in golf
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. swing — to play on
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. drill — army training
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. clip — a video
  14. drill — a practice
  15. game — wild animals
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. game — a match
  18. clip — to cut
  19. track — a path
  20. track — to keep track
  21. degree — from a university
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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