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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. degree — an amount
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. race — the arms race
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mug — a face
  10. toast — bread
  11. spring — the season
  12. mug — to rob
  13. race — humankind
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. fine — all right
  16. race — a contest
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fine — high quality
  22. mug — a cup
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spring — of water

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