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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wake — a trail
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. can — a tin
  9. degree — from a university
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. can — a tin
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. file — a line of people
  14. degree — an amount
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. file — a tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. band — a ring
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. file — a document
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. dip — to sink
  24. degree — temperature

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