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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. swing — in golf
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cap — a hat
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. swing — music
  12. can — to be able to
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cell — a phone
  15. can — a tin
  16. swing — to play on
  17. present — a gift
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. can — a tin
  20. cell — in biology
  21. present — there
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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