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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. file — a tool
  5. cue — for pool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. season — of the year
  8. track — a song
  9. present — a gift
  10. file — a line of people
  11. row — a line
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cue — a signal
  14. season — in sport
  15. file — a document
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. present — there
  18. track — a path
  19. cue — a hint
  20. track — to keep track
  21. degree — temperature
  22. present — the time now
  23. straw — a straw man
  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