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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. drill — army training
  5. clip — to cut
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. drill — a practice
  9. clip — for paper
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. drill — the tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. lie — to recline
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — from a university
  24. squash — the vegetable

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