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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. saw — the tool
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. saw — the tool
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. file — a document
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. degree — temperature
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wake — a trail
  19. board — to get on
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. file — a tool
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. mine — an explosive

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