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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: track · season · degree · tube · stand · bowl · cold · swing

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. degree — temperature
  3. swing — to play on
  4. season — in sport
  5. tube — a container
  6. cold — not warm
  7. swing — music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. degree — an amount
  14. track — a song
  15. season — of the year
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tube — the underground
  18. track — a path
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. track — to keep track
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. stand — to bear
  24. degree — from a university

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