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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: sharp · season · rock · kid · press · degree · swing · spring

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. spring — a coil
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. season — of the year
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. swing — to play on
  12. season — in sport
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. press — to push
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. sharp — clever
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. swing — in golf
  24. press — a publisher

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