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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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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 · can · pop · march · straw · rest · stick · degree

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. degree — an amount
  5. can — a tin
  6. pop — to visit
  7. march — the month
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. pop — soda
  10. march — the month
  11. degree — temperature
  12. swing — music
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. can — to be able to
  15. march — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rest — a break
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. can — a tin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pop — music
  24. rest — what's left

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