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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bound — obliged
  8. game — wild animals
  9. spring — of water
  10. degree — from a university
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. degree — temperature
  14. spring — the season
  15. game — a match
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — tied together

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