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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. squash — the sport
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rash — a series
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wake — a trail
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. rash — hasty
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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