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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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. kid — to tease
  7. chip — for betting
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rock — music
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. degree — from a university
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. kid — child
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. chip — to eat
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rock — a stone
  24. pass — a permit

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