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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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 — from a university
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. spring — a coil
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. drill — army training
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. swing — to play on
  11. cue — for pool
  12. lean — thin
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. spring — of water
  16. swing — in golf
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. lean — to bend
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. spring — the season
  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