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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 · leaves · wind · safe · cell · wake · swing · chest

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. swing — to play on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. chest — a box
  14. degree — temperature
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. cell — a phone
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. wake — a trail
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. wind — moving air

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