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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bass — the fish
  4. swing — in golf
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cue — a hint
  7. land — to come down
  8. cue — for pool
  9. land — a country
  10. mark — a grade
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. land — ground
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. bass — low music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cue — a signal
  20. swing — music
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mark — a trace
  23. club — for golf
  24. swing — to play on

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