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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 116 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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. degree — from a university
  3. land — ground
  4. hand — help
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. saw — the tool
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rest — what's left
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. land — a country
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. perch — the fish
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. land — to come down
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. rest — a break
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rest — what's left
  24. hand — in cards

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