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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rest — a break
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. swing — to play on
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lean — to bend
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. swing — music
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cold — an illness
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. lean — thin
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wind — moving air
  24. degree — temperature

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