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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. race — humankind
  4. bound — obliged
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. race — the arms race
  7. tear — from crying
  8. last — to go on
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bound — tied together
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. staff — a stick
  15. last — final
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tear — to rip
  19. staff — employees
  20. race — a contest
  21. last — finally
  22. staff — employees
  23. bound — certain
  24. degree — from a university

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