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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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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: chest · track · game · spell · present · degree · swing · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chest — a box
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. swing — to play on
  6. present — there
  7. track — a path
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. present — a gift
  13. track — a song
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. game — a match
  17. present — the time now
  18. degree — from a university
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. track — to keep track
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. spell — a short time

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