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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. swing — music
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bound — obliged
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. degree — from a university
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. swing — in golf
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. degree — an amount
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bound — certain
  16. squash — to crush
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. squash — the sport
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bound — tied together
  23. swing — to play on
  24. squash — the vegetable

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