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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pound — a weight
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. file — a document
  6. mark — a trace
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. degree — from a university
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pop — soda
  11. degree — an amount
  12. file — a line of people
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. file — a tool
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — to paddle
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. row — a line
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mark — a grade
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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