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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. file — a document
  6. swing — music
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. file — a tool
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. swing — to play on
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. swing — in golf

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