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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. spring — the season
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mug — a face
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spring — a coil
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rest — a break
  17. face — to confront
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. degree — an amount
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mug — a cup
  22. spring — of water
  23. rest — what's left
  24. straw — a straw man

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