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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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468
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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. wind — to turn a key
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kick — in football
  8. degree — temperature
  9. object — a thing
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. swing — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. object — to protest
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. object — an aim
  17. scale — size or range
  18. swing — in golf
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. degree — an amount
  21. scale — in music
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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