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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. staff — a stick
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rule — a law
  5. swing — to play on
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rule — government
  9. staff — employees
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — to protest
  15. hand — help
  16. swing — music
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. staff — employees
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bowl — to roll

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