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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. degree — temperature
  3. saw — the tool
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rock — a stone
  7. degree — from a university
  8. land — a country
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wake — a trail
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. land — ground
  14. rock — music
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. tear — to rip
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. degree — an amount
  24. land — to come down

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