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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · jam · bat · hand · degree · racket · charge · firm

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. hand — in cards
  5. charge — a price
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. hand — help
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. degree — an amount
  13. charge — in control
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. charge — electricity
  18. firm — decided
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. firm — steady
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bat — the animal
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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