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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 · arm · file · degree · spell · pitcher · wind · squash

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — letters
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. swing — music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. degree — from a university
  15. squash — the sport
  16. file — a line of people
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. file — a document
  19. swing — in golf
  20. squash — to crush
  21. file — a tool
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. degree — an amount

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