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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cell — a phone
  3. last — finally
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. track — to keep track
  8. roll — a cake
  9. last — to go on
  10. roll — a list
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. track — a song
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. sharp — clever
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. track — a path
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. last — final

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