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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pop — to visit
  3. degree — from a university
  4. swing — music
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. dip — to sink
  10. degree — temperature
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. object — a thing
  13. tear — to rip
  14. swing — in golf
  15. tear — from crying
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — an aim
  24. tear — from crying

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