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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. lean — thin
  3. file — a line of people
  4. mug — a cup
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. degree — from a university
  10. file — a tool
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mug — a face
  16. file — a document
  17. mug — to rob
  18. charge — electricity
  19. degree — temperature
  20. charge — a price
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — to bend
  23. charge — in control
  24. degree — an amount

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