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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. file — a document
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. race — humankind
  7. mark — a trace
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. can — to be able to
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mark — a grade
  16. can — a tin
  17. spell — a short time
  18. file — a line of people
  19. race — a contest
  20. file — a tool
  21. spell — letters
  22. degree — an amount
  23. race — the arms race
  24. spell — magic

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