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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. game — wild animals
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. fork — in a road
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — a measure
  16. lie — to recline
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. degree — temperature
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. game — a match
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. rock — music

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