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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · swing · patient · land · row · mouse · degree · pitcher

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — an amount
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. swing — music
  8. row — to paddle
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. land — a country
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. row — a line
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. swing — to play on

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