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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: degree · rest · bowl · mine · wake · bound · last · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bound — obliged
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. last — final
  10. bound — tied together
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rest — a break
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bound — certain
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bowl — to roll

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