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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · degree · rash · scale · swing · present · snap · ball

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. present — there
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rash — a series
  5. swing — music
  6. scale — in music
  7. ball — a great time
  8. swing — in golf
  9. degree — from a university
  10. swing — to play on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. present — a gift
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. snap — to click
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. present — the time now
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. scale — size or range
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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