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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pit — a hole
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. face — to confront
  8. pit — in a race
  9. degree — an amount
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rest — a break
  12. face — part of the head
  13. rest — what's left
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. degree — from a university
  18. sharp — clever
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. sharp — with an edge

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