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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bear — the animal
  3. drill — army training
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cap — of ice
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. drill — a practice
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cap — a hat
  17. drill — the tool
  18. degree — an amount

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