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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. wake — a trail
  5. degree — an amount
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. spring — the season
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bass — the fish
  13. squash — the sport
  14. degree — from a university
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spring — of water
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. mark — a trace
  21. spring — a coil
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mark — a grade

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