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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: swing · cell · kid · track · rock · degree · deal · bass

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. swing — in golf
  4. track — a song
  5. rock — a stone
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cell — in biology
  10. track — to keep track
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rock — music
  13. degree — an amount
  14. swing — music
  15. bass — low music
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. deal — to handle
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cell — a phone
  20. track — a path
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  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