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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bat — the animal
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. squash — the sport
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. squash — to crush
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — an amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. board — a committee
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. board — to get on
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. squash — the vegetable

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