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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: lie · cold · swing · club · sharp · snap · degree · pound

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. degree — temperature
  3. swing — in golf
  4. club — for golf
  5. lie — to recline
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — a group
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pound — a weight
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. degree — an amount
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. sharp — exactly

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