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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 124 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. root — of a plant
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mate — a friend
  7. degree — an amount
  8. swing — to play on
  9. clip — a video
  10. mug — a cup
  11. last — to go on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. club — for golf
  14. clip — for paper
  15. root — the cause
  16. last — finally
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — to cut
  21. last — final
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mate — a partner
  24. root — of a word

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