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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: firm · staff · bank · swing · cold · pitcher · degree · cap

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  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. staff — a stick
  2. cap — a lid
  3. firm — decided
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cap — of ice
  6. staff — employees
  7. degree — an amount
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — from a university
  13. swing — music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — for money
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — a company
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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