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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. degree — temperature
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. swing — music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fine — all right
  12. kid — to tease
  13. swing — to play on
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. band — a music group
  16. degree — from a university
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. degree — an amount
  21. band — a ring
  22. fine — high quality
  23. kid — child
  24. mouse — for a computer

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