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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 · mark · club · row · board · wound · degree · root

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  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. mark — a trace
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. club — for golf
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — of a plant
  9. swing — music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. root — of a word
  12. degree — temperature
  13. row — a line
  14. board — to get on
  15. root — the cause
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — a group
  19. board — a committee
  20. wound — an injury
  21. swing — in golf
  22. row — to paddle
  23. swing — to play on
  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