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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. degree — an amount
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bound — tied together
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pop — music
  10. bound — certain
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. season — of the year
  15. pop — soda
  16. season — in sport
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pass — a permit
  19. file — a document
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pop — to visit
  24. degree — temperature

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