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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. degree — an amount
  16. clip — to cut
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rush — hurry
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fan — a supporter

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