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

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. degree — temperature
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. suit — clothes
  7. suit — in cards
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. suit — to fit
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pass — a permit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. degree — an amount
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. shower — rain
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. degree — from a university

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