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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.

Make a worksheet

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: row · pitcher · rest · wind · toast · degree · hand · mine

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. hand — help
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rest — a break
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rest — what's left

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