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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · straw · degree · saw · dip · tear · rest · prune

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. saw — the tool
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. dip — to sink
  9. tear — from crying
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tube — a container
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tube — the underground
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. degree — an amount
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. saw — the tool

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