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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: swing · degree · hide · straw · bark · pitcher · game · foot

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. degree — temperature
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. foot — a measure
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. swing — music
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. game — a match
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. swing — to play on
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bark — to shout
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. swing — in golf

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