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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. can — a tin
  3. swing — music
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. file — a line of people
  7. swing — to play on
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rash — a series
  10. court — of a king
  11. file — a document
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. court — of law
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. court — for sport
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. rash — hasty
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. file — a tool

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