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

Word bank: file · racket · squash · straw · bat · race · swing · degree

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. degree — an amount
  5. race — a contest
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. degree — from a university
  8. swing — in golf
  9. degree — temperature
  10. file — a line of people
  11. race — humankind
  12. swing — music
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. swing — to play on
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. race — the arms race
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. squash — to crush
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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