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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: degree · club · ball · pit · mine · wound · rash · swing

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. ball — a dance
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. swing — music
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wound — an injury
  8. club — for dancing
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. ball — a great time
  12. degree — an amount
  13. club — a group
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wound — an injury
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rash — a series
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rash — hasty
  24. club — for 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