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

Word bank: saw · track · race · snap · straw · bore · degree · mine

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bore — to tire
  10. track — a song
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. mine — for digging
  14. race — the arms race
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. degree — an amount
  17. track — a path
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — humankind
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. degree — temperature
  23. snap — to click
  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