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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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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: mouse · swing · board · present · race · chest · degree · perch

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. swing — in golf
  5. degree — from a university
  6. present — a gift
  7. perch — the fish
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. present — there
  10. swing — to play on
  11. board — a committee
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — an amount
  17. board — to get on
  18. swing — music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. present — the time now
  21. race — the arms race
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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