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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: degree · pop · staff · game · chair · bulb · bat · swing

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — an amount
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bulb — for light
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bulb — for light
  10. swing — to play on
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — music
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pop — soda
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. degree — from a university
  24. game — a match

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