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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: swing · rest · chair · bass · bore · degree · kid · branch

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. branch — a division
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. swing — music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bass — low music
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rest — what's left
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bore — to drill

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