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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · pop · cold · current · row · swing · track · pit

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — to play on
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. current — happening now
  6. row — a line
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pop — soda
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pop — music
  11. row — to paddle
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pit — a hole
  17. track — a path
  18. pit — in a race
  19. current — electric
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. current — of water
  23. swing — music
  24. cold — not warm

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