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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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Word bank
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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: lean · degree · bowl · cell · swing · ground

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. lean — to bend
  7. swing — music
  8. lean — thin
  9. ground — a position
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. ground — crushed
  13. degree — an amount
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cell — a phone
  18. ground — the earth

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