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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: club · cap · cue · straw · ground · bass · race · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. club — for golf
  3. cue — a hint
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. cue — for pool
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. ground — the earth
  12. club — for dancing
  13. cap — of ice
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bass — the fish
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cap — a lid
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ground — a position
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ground — crushed
  23. club — a group
  24. cap — a hat

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