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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — farmland
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. bound — certain
  6. field — for sport
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — a subject
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pound — a weight
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bound — obliged
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bound — tied together
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. degree — an amount
  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