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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. row — a line
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. degree — temperature
  7. present — there
  8. present — a gift
  9. bat — the animal
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. row — to paddle
  13. present — the time now
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. swing — music
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. game — a match
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. degree — an amount
  22. swing — in golf
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bat — in an idiom

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