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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — an aim
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. swing — to play on
  8. spring — of water
  9. swing — music
  10. spring — a coil
  11. charge — in control
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. charge — electricity
  14. rush — hurry
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. charge — a price
  23. swing — in golf
  24. spring — the season

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