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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · pop · face · swing · race · club

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. race — the arms race
  3. club — for golf
  4. race — a contest
  5. face — to confront
  6. race — humankind
  7. pop — to visit
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pop — music
  10. swing — music
  11. degree — from a university
  12. swing — in golf
  13. degree — temperature
  14. club — a group
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pop — soda

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