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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. scale — size or range
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fine — all right
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fine — high quality
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. scale — in music

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