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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spring — of water
  7. degree — from a university
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bear — the animal
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. degree — an amount
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. branch — a division
  17. fall — the season
  18. snap — to click
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. fall — to drop
  23. spring — the season
  24. branch — of a tree

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