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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. degree — an amount
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chair — a leader
  8. foot — a measure
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. swing — music

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