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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. file — a tool
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. object — an aim
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. file — a line of people
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. file — a document
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. degree — an amount
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. degree — temperature
  24. chair — a leader

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