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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. ball — a great time
  6. capital — money
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bound — certain
  18. swing — music
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. ball — a dance
  22. capital — a city
  23. swing — to play on
  24. pitch — completely

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