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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: club · degree · swing · ruler · race · bore · chest · current

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. degree — from a university
  3. swing — music
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bore — to tire
  6. chest — a box
  7. degree — an amount
  8. current — happening now
  9. club — for golf
  10. current — of water
  11. club — a group
  12. swing — in golf
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. chest — of your body
  16. current — electric
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. race — humankind
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bore — to drill
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chest — of your body
  23. race — a contest
  24. ruler — for measuring

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