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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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: wind · degree · game · swing · craft · row · chair · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. swing — to play on
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. degree — temperature
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wind — moving air
  9. craft — a skill
  10. row — a line
  11. swing — music
  12. game — a match
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — boats
  19. degree — from a university
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — a leader
  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