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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. swing — to play on
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bulb — for light
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. degree — from a university
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. degree — an amount
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. row — a line
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mug — a cup
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. swing — music
  18. mug — to rob
  19. degree — temperature
  20. row — to paddle
  21. swing — in golf
  22. mug — a face
  23. field — a subject
  24. bulb — of a plant

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