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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. file — a line of people
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. file — a tool
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. file — a document
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. board — to get on
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. board — a committee
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bat — in an idiom

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