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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: swing · fork · arm · stand · clip · degree · mine · deal

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. degree — from a university
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. swing — music
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. deal — to handle
  13. stand — to bear
  14. degree — an amount
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fork — in a road
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. mine — for digging

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