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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: swing · court · chest · bark · squash · calf · degree · dip

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. swing — in golf
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. dip — to sink
  7. degree — from a university
  8. squash — the sport
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. degree — an amount
  11. court — for sport
  12. degree — temperature
  13. court — of law
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bark — to shout
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. court — of a king
  19. swing — to play on
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. swing — music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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