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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: degree · lie · wound · leaves · bat · capital · swing · cue

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cue — a hint
  4. swing — in golf
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. swing — music
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cue — for pool
  9. degree — temperature
  10. capital — money
  11. lie — to recline
  12. degree — an amount
  13. capital — a city
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cue — a signal
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. swing — to play on
  24. capital — a big letter

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