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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. degree — an amount
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bank — for money
  7. track — to keep track
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. track — a path
  10. degree — temperature
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bank — for money
  15. wound — an injury
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bank — of a river
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. track — a song
  24. wind — to turn a key

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