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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cue — a hint
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cue — a signal
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rush — hurry
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cue — for pool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. rush — to hurry

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