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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. march — the month
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. degree — from a university
  5. court — of a king
  6. press — to push
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. press — newspapers
  10. degree — an amount
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. march — the month
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bear — the animal
  15. march — music
  16. press — a publisher
  17. degree — temperature
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. court — of law
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bear — the animal

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