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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for golf
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — from a university
  13. craft — boats
  14. degree — an amount
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. pound — a weight
  17. craft — a skill
  18. degree — temperature
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. club — for dancing
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. pound — for dogs

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