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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.

Make a worksheet

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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mug — a cup
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. degree — an amount
  12. field — farmland
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — to paddle
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — a line
  17. field — a subject
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. perch — the fish
  20. field — for sport
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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