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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: arm · bulb · club · straw · row · pitcher · cue · degree

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. row — a line
  3. club — for golf
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cue — a signal
  11. bulb — for light
  12. club — a group
  13. cue — a hint
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. degree — an amount
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cue — for pool
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. club — for dancing
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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