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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a cake
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. dip — to sink
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stand — to bear
  12. toast — bread
  13. degree — from a university
  14. roll — a list
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. degree — temperature
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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