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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cue — a signal
  5. row — to paddle
  6. season — in sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. dip — to sink
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. row — a line
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. dip — a sauce

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