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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. present — a gift
  3. degree — an amount
  4. swing — in golf
  5. face — part of the head
  6. scale — in music
  7. present — the time now
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. face — to confront
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wound — an injury
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. degree — temperature
  16. face — to point toward
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. swing — music
  24. present — there

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