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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. row — a line
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. swing — in golf
  12. march — the month
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bank — of a river
  15. row — to paddle
  16. swing — music
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bank — for money
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bank — for money
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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