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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. lean — thin
  4. degree — temperature
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. land — to come down
  8. wind — moving air
  9. roll — a cake
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. dip — to sink
  12. land — ground
  13. degree — from a university
  14. land — a country
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. wind — moving air
  22. roll — a list
  23. bore — to drill
  24. lean — to bend

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