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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. squash — to crush
  4. season — of the year
  5. sharp — clever
  6. squash — the sport
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bass — the fish
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — a stone
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. season — in sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. stock — shares
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bass — low music
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rock — music
  24. bass — the instrument

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