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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: object · row · wake · degree · pound · straw · mouse · clip

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. degree — temperature
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. row — to paddle
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. object — a thing
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. pound — a weight
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wake — a trail
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — to protest
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. mouse — the animal
  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