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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 drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. can — to be able to
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. can — a tin
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. race — the arms race
  10. can — a tin
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. degree — temperature
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. kick — in football
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wax — to grow
  18. kick — with a leg

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