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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. swing — to play on
  6. plane — a tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bass — the fish
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bass — low music
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. swing — music
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. plane — an aircraft

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