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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. scale — size or range
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. fall — the season
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. face — part of the head
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. face — to confront
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. saw — the tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fall — to drop
  21. face — to point toward
  22. scale — in music
  23. degree — from a university
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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