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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. net — for catching
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bound — certain
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rock — a stone
  7. degree — temperature
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rock — music
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rock — to move gently

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