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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: foot · bass · toast · wind · degree · ground · straw · mate

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mate — a partner
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bass — the fish
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. foot — a measure
  16. degree — temperature
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mate — a friend
  20. ground — a position
  21. mate — to breed
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bass — low music
  24. degree — an amount

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