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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. degree — an amount
  4. file — a document
  5. degree — from a university
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. file — a line of people
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. file — a tool
  13. degree — temperature
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fork — in a road
  17. rule — a law
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — music
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rule — government

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