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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. mark — a trace
  2. bear — the animal
  3. net — after costs
  4. spring — the season
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spring — of water
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spring — a coil
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. net — in sport
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. deal — to handle
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. net — for catching
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. degree — from a university
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. straw — a straw man
  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