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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bank — of a river
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. degree — temperature
  6. scale — size or range
  7. swing — to play on
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. scale — in music
  10. pitch — completely
  11. degree — from a university
  12. march — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bank — for money
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bank — for money
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. swing — music
  23. march — the month
  24. degree — an amount

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