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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bound — certain
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stand — to bear
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bound — obliged
  18. stand — for spectators

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