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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 · degree · chip · bass · stick · file · rush · kid

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kid — child
  6. degree — an amount
  7. file — a document
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bass — the fish
  11. file — a tool
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — to eat
  15. file — a line of people
  16. swing — to play on
  17. kid — to tease
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bass — low music
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bass — the instrument

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