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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. face — to point toward
  3. stand — to bear
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. degree — from a university
  10. drill — a practice
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. face — to confront
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. face — part of the head
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. coach — a trainer

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