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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: cabinet · pass · degree · swing · wind · lash · march · present

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. degree — from a university
  4. march — music
  5. present — the time now
  6. march — the month
  7. present — a gift
  8. march — the month
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. swing — music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. pass — a permit
  15. present — there
  16. wind — moving air
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. swing — in golf

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