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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. degree — from a university
  4. last — finally
  5. wound — an injury
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. object — a thing
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. object — an aim
  13. wound — an injury
  14. last — final
  15. degree — an amount
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. last — to go on
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. can — a tin
  22. drill — the tool
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. degree — temperature

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