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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ground — the earth
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ground — a position
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — a law
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. swing — in golf
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. rule — government
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — to protest
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — music
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. object — an aim
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wind — to turn a key

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