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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: roll · bound · calf · straw · spring · date · saw · degree

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. spring — of water
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. saw — the tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. date — the fruit
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a list
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bound — tied together
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spring — a coil
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bound — obliged
  21. degree — an amount
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spring — the season
  24. bound — certain

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