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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bound — obliged
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. degree — temperature
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. spell — letters
  8. degree — an amount
  9. ball — a dance
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. spell — magic
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. bat — the animal
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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