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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — a practice
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pass — a permit
  12. content — happy
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. drill — the tool
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. content — the amount
  24. racket — for tennis

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