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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bank — of a river
  4. degree — an amount
  5. file — a tool
  6. bank — for money
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bank — for money
  13. lean — to bend
  14. degree — from a university
  15. file — a document
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. stock — goods
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stock — shares
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. lean — thin
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. mouse — the animal

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