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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rush — hurry
  3. club — for golf
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. track — a song
  8. degree — from a university
  9. band — a music group
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. track — a path
  13. degree — temperature
  14. band — a ring
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. swing — in golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. degree — an amount
  19. season — in sport
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. swing — music
  22. track — to keep track
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. club — a group

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