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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: calf · deal · degree · kid · pitcher · swing · bat · straw

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. swing — music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. kid — child
  6. deal — to handle
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. degree — an amount
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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