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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. degree — temperature
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. press — a publisher
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. press — to push
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. row — a line
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. capital — a city
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — a thing
  20. cap — a lid
  21. press — newspapers
  22. row — to paddle
  23. object — to protest
  24. degree — from a university

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