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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. content — happy
  7. band — a music group
  8. content — the amount
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. plane — a tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. band — a ring
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. degree — from a university

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