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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — a trail
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. saw — the tool
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. ground — a position
  11. branch — a division
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. degree — from a university
  14. ground — the earth
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. perch — the fish
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. perch — for a bird

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