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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. swing — to play on
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. swing — in golf
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. kick — in football
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. degree — temperature
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a committee
  24. swing — music

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