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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.

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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. stock — shares
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. stock — goods
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bore — to tire
  22. can — a tin
  23. bore — to drill
  24. stock — a soup base

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