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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. roll — a list
  3. spring — of water
  4. degree — an amount
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. cap — a hat
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. roll — a cake
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wake — a trail
  24. degree — temperature

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