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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 116 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 drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. fall — the season
  5. degree — an amount
  6. swing — to play on
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bass — the fish
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bass — low music
  11. current — electric
  12. branch — a division
  13. fall — to drop
  14. degree — temperature
  15. file — a document
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. degree — from a university
  20. swing — music
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. swing — in golf
  23. file — a tool
  24. fall — to drop

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