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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: bass · wind · game · toast · degree · pound · swing · branch

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bass — low music
  6. branch — a division
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. pound — a weight
  11. swing — music
  12. game — a match
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. swing — to play on
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. swing — in golf
  21. toast — bread
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wind — moving air

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