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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: stick · rash · pound · mate · swing · bat · wind · degree

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. swing — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mate — a friend
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rash — a series
  14. mate — to breed
  15. rash — hasty
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bat — the animal
  18. swing — to play on
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pound — a weight

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