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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pound — a weight
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — an amount
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. degree — from a university
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lean — thin
  20. sharp — clever
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. wave — with your hand

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