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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. degree — an amount
  9. row — to paddle
  10. shower — to wash
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. field — a subject
  13. stem — to come from
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. shower — rain
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. field — for sport
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. field — farmland

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