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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. current — happening now
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. degree — from a university
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. degree — an amount
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. degree — temperature
  13. net — after costs
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. net — in sport
  16. cap — of ice
  17. mine — for digging
  18. net — for catching

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