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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mate — a partner
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pop — soda
  7. bound — tied together
  8. file — a document
  9. degree — temperature
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. file — a tool
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bound — certain
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. bound — obliged
  21. craft — a skill
  22. degree — from a university
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. mate — a friend

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