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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bank — of a river
  4. spring — of water
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. degree — from a university
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. object — a thing
  9. wax — to grow
  10. object — to protest
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bank — for money
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. bank — for money
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wind — moving air
  20. object — an aim
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. scale — in music

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