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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. mug — a face
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. swing — to play on
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mug — to rob
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. swing — music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pop — to visit
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. degree — temperature
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mug — a cup

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