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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. file — a document
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rush — hurry
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. degree — an amount
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. swing — music
  14. vault — a safe
  15. file — a line of people
  16. swing — to play on
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. scale — size or range
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. scale — in music
  24. file — a tool

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