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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bear — the animal
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. degree — an amount
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a cake
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mine — for digging
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bear — the animal
  17. spring — of water
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. spring — the season
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. saw — the tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. saw — the tool
  24. roll — a list

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