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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: present · ground · fine · chest · swing · degree · fork · fall

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. swing — to play on
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. present — a gift
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fine — high quality
  10. ground — the earth
  11. fall — to drop
  12. present — there
  13. ground — a position
  14. fall — the season
  15. degree — an amount
  16. swing — music
  17. present — the time now
  18. swing — in golf
  19. ground — crushed
  20. fine — all right
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fork — in a road

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