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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 120 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 second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bound — tied together
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bound — certain
  10. last — to go on
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. last — final
  13. hand — help
  14. degree — from a university
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. last — finally
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bound — obliged
  23. capital — a city
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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