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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bound — tied together
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bound — obliged
  8. rush — hurry
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. degree — temperature
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. perch — the fish
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bound — certain
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ground — the earth
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — crushed
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ground — a position

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