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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. lean — thin
  4. branch — a division
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. ground — a position
  10. lean — to bend
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. degree — from a university
  23. ground — crushed
  24. lean — to rest against

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