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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 120 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pop — music
  4. spring — a coil
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mug — a cup
  10. degree — temperature
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pop — soda
  15. spring — of water
  16. mug — a face
  17. degree — an amount
  18. spring — the season
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — from a university
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. pop — to visit

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