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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: rock · land · degree · tube · fork · season · hand · swing

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. fork — in a road
  3. swing — in golf
  4. land — ground
  5. hand — help
  6. degree — from a university
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. tube — the underground
  9. swing — music
  10. season — in sport
  11. degree — an amount
  12. tube — a container
  13. rock — music
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. hand — in cards
  18. season — of the year
  19. land — to come down
  20. degree — temperature
  21. swing — to play on
  22. rock — a stone
  23. land — a country
  24. fork — to eat with

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