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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: toast · wake · straw · pass · degree · game · craft · tear

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wake — a trail
  6. degree — an amount
  7. game — a match
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. degree — from a university
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. tear — from crying
  14. toast — bread
  15. pass — a permit
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. tear — from crying
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. craft — a skill
  24. tear — to rip

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