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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spring — a coil
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — from a university
  11. foot — a measure
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bear — the animal
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. spring — of water
  19. degree — temperature
  20. spring — the season
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bear — the animal
  23. file — a document
  24. foot — the bottom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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