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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. file — a line of people
  4. content — the amount
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. mug — to rob
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. content — happy
  10. mug — a cup
  11. kid — child
  12. swing — music
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. file — a document
  15. swing — in golf
  16. kid — to tease
  17. file — a tool
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. swing — to play on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mug — a face
  24. arm — a part of something

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