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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. mug — a face
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. degree — an amount
  5. land — to come down
  6. degree — from a university
  7. land — a country
  8. capital — a city
  9. mug — to rob
  10. current — electric
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mug — a cup
  13. scale — in music
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. scale — size or range
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. capital — money
  19. degree — temperature
  20. current — of water
  21. land — ground
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. current — happening now

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