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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 116 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: firm · hide · degree · cap · wave · cold · swing · mine

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. firm — decided
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. firm — steady
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cap — of ice
  14. firm — a company
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mine — for digging
  24. swing — in 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