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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · dip · object · spring · degree · pitch · patient · key

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. key — in music
  3. spring — a coil
  4. swing — music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. degree — an amount
  9. object — to protest
  10. spring — the season
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. object — a thing
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spring — of water
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pitch — completely
  20. object — an aim
  21. key — for a lock
  22. swing — in golf
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. dip — to sink

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