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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. net — for catching
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. degree — temperature
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wind — moving air
  8. degree — from a university
  9. chip — for betting
  10. rush — hurry
  11. net — in sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. chip — to eat
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. swing — in golf
  18. degree — an amount
  19. saw — the tool
  20. net — after costs
  21. swing — music
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — dry grass

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