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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. file — a line of people
  3. ground — a position
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. file — a tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. ground — crushed
  9. clip — for paper
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. file — a document
  13. ground — the earth
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. clip — to cut
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. clip — a video
  24. degree — from a university

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