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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 124 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. degree — from a university
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. hand — help
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. mouse — the animal

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