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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: squash · bass · ground · swing · chip · patient · degree · pop

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. degree — an amount
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. ground — a position
  6. pop — to visit
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pop — soda
  10. squash — the sport
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — from a university
  13. squash — to crush
  14. degree — temperature
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bass — low music
  18. chip — to eat
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pop — music
  21. swing — music
  22. chip — for betting
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bass — the fish

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